Live Alive: Time Crash
by gamer4
Summary: For centuries, the world has been haunted by an evil taking many forms... Now, as the eleventh hour draws near, all those who opposed it will be drawn to its origin for one, final confrontation. Finale of the Live Alive mini-series!
1. The Arrival

Gamer4 in. Welcome, my friends, to the final story in the _Live Alive _mini-series. I'll give my usual quick summation for those of you who haven't read the other stories in the mini-series yet, but at the same time, I really don't recommend reading any further without at least a basic familiarity with the others. A couple weeks ago, I began work on a mini-series based on the Squaresoft game, _Live A Live_, or possibly _Live A eviL, _depending on how you look at it. It consisted of eight different short stories across eight different fandoms, with very loose connections between them. This story is the one that will tie them all together, bringing the protagonists of each story together for the grand finale. There was a week-long break in the middle, where a poll was run to see which main character the readers wanted to take the main character role in this story. As of now, things stand in a tie, so I'll do as I said I would, and, as a tie-breaker, play things by ear, trying to distribute the time between the various characters. Hope you enjoy- this is what everything's been building towards. Let's dive in.

Disclaimer: Lots of things to disclaim for this story. Alright... *Deep breath...* I don't own _Warriors, Ranma ½, Legend of Zelda, EarthBound, Harry Potter, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Xenosaga, Teen Titans, _or _Live A Live/ Live A eviL, _the game this whole thing is inspired by.

Live Alive

Time Crash

Chapter I

The Arrival

Night had fallen, not that it made any impression on the room the blue-robed figure sat in. In her world, the sun never rose- the world was locked in a perpetual twilight.

Her eyes closed as she floated gently above her bed, breathing gently as she contemplated everything that had happened. Finally, she spoke aloud. "Why?" she muttered. "Why can't I defeat them?" It was all she could think about- the sole thought ravaging her mind. She couldn't put a time frame on it- since she had entered this world, time had become irrelevant, seconds blending into minutes into days into months. She may have been at it for only a few days, or possibly several years. There was no way to tell. And yet, every time she thought she was on the verge of success, victory was snatched away from her. She could feel it, so close, hanging tantalizingly in front of her, but she could never quite grasp it...

Slowly, her eyes opened, she touched down on the floor, and made her way to the window, and looked out upon the desolation on the other side. The city had fallen easily- almost _too _easily- and yet, in all other times, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't succeed there where she'd succeeded here. _Why? _It made no sense... the life that infested this earth was designed to fail... wretched creatures ruled by simple, petty desire... by all rights, they should have been halfway to destroying themselves before she even turned up. She wasn't the cause of their destruction, she was merely hastening the already inevitable process... a process she'd already witnessed firsthand.

Once, she thought, she might have stood alongside those she'd been fighting so hard to destroy. Once, she'd fought for the cancerous growths that called themselves humans... but she'd seen their true colors. Used, betrayed, and cast aside like garbage, she'd been granted a glimpse of humanity's true face.

And so began her journeys through time and space. She'd become a traveler, venturing throughout the world, attempting to show others what she had seen, allowing them to witness for themselves the scum they were fighting for... but they wouldn't see it. No matter what, they were determined to shut their eyes, blinding themselves to the truth, continuing to struggle on for their puerile ideals...

Finally, she returned to herself, allowing the view of the desolate, ruined city to fill her like a poison. Perhaps... perhaps _that _was the way to do it. If they wouldn't see the truth, then make them. She'd had enough of going to others' worlds... it was time for them to come to hers. And if, even then, they refused to see the truth... there was no helping them.

XXXX

"Ah, that really _is _bitter," Virgil muttered as he swallowed the contents of the mug in front of him. "Dark, bitter, and hot as hell... that's coffee." A slight smile came to his face. "And the truth is... that's just the way I like it."

KOS-MOS gave a curt nod, and was on the point of turning when a strange voice met her ears. "You, born from nothing, were created by humans to fulfill their selfish desires..."

KOS-MOS turned, only to see Virgil still glaring down at his coffee. "Did you say something?"

"What?" Virgil asked, looking up. His eyes widened as they spied the floor beneath KOS-MOS. "What the hell is that?!"

KOS-MOS looked down and made a flinching motion that conveyed a great deal of shock for the newly-born android. The floor beneath her had transformed into a swirling black vortex- and it was absorbing her rapidly. She looked up as it consumed her up to her waist. "Find Shion," she said, monotone as ever, but conveying a sense of urgency nonetheless. "Must... protect... Shion..." Her speech began to distort as her eyes closed and she slipped through the vortex.

XXXX

"Oh, really?" Ranma smiled, reclining back into his bed. "That's... that's great to hear. Nice... nice job, Akane."

"Thanks...Ranma," Akane said, a smile warmer than anything she'd felt lately sliding across her face.

"Come on," Dr. Tofu spoke, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, guiding her back towards the lobby. "Let him rest."

Akane was on the point of allowing herself to be guided out when she felt her foot fall through nothing, almost like climbing a set of stairs and thinking there's one more step than there is- but there were no stairs in this building...

"Wh-what?" Tofu gasped, leaping back as they both looked down to see a swirling black vortex forming on the floor. Akane, already stumbling, had fallen into it face-first, and was already almost completely swallowed by it.

"Akane!" Ranma gasped, trying to force himself to his feet. However, in the time it took to stand and leap forward, the vortex had already disappeared- taking Akane with it.

XXXX

Well, that's alright," Shinji nodded, standing, feeling strength course through him as he remembered everything Rei had told him. A fury almost at the level of what he'd felt towards Karasu was pumping through his veins. He knew what was happening now, and refused to take it sitting down. Looking around, he saw the looks of surprise on Asuka and Misato's face. "I've got some words for him, too."

He was on the point of leaving when a large, black vortex seemed to open up beneath him. In a moment, his eyes opened in terror, recalling the last time such a thing had happened. Behind him, Asuka and Misato, both of whom seemed to recall the incident as well, leapt forward, each taking an arm and attempting to pull him back. He let out a scream of terror as he felt himself being consumed. "It's cold... it's cold... so cold!"

"Come on, baka! Stay back here!" Asuka cried, pulling with all her strength. However, despite all of their efforts, Shinji slipped beneath the darkness. Asuka dove forward, but by the time she'd touched the ground, the vortex was gone.

XXXX

Jeff snapped. "And _that_-" he growled, grabbing Ness by the ear before he could continue embarrassing himself, "-is officially where I lose my patience. Come on, you wanted to show me the arcade, right?"

"Oh, right, we've got some great games!" Ness perked up as he was dragged away. "Want me to show you my high score on Donkey Kong? Come to think of it, I was going to play some of that just before I headed out, but then I got into that fight with Frank, and then I had to go talk to the Mayor, so I never really got the chance-"

"Do you _ever _turn off?" Jeff sighed, releasing Ness and turning to stare at him in exasperation.

"Oh, sorry," Ness said, turning slightly red. "I... I'll just be talking about one thing, then I start thinking about something else, and then that leads to another thing, and the next thing you know..."

Jeff sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, only returning to the world when Ness said, "By the way, did it suddenly get really cold in here, or what?"

Jeff opened his eyes and looked down to see Ness halfway through sinking into a black vortex. "Ness!" he exclaimed, paralyzed by shock.

"Huh?" Ness asked, looking down. "Oh, this? Yeah... that appeared a couple seconds ago. Kind of weird, huh? Looks like I'm going on a trip. Mind taking care of King while I'm gone?"

"Dang it, Ness, I gotta... get you... out of there!" Jeff grunted, grabbing onto one of Ness's arms and beginning to pull.

"It's alright, I don't think it's dangerous!" Ness noted cheerfully. To demonstrate his point, he took his free arm and dipped it beneath the vortex and pulling it back. "Kind of cold, but not too bad, you know? I'll get back as soon as I can."

"Ness, work with me here!" Jeff growled, struggling to keep his friend above ground. "At least _try_!"

"See you around!" Ness said cheerfully as the vortex seemed to give a tug, pulling him further into its depths. He smiled and flashed his usual peace sign as it pulled him down and vanished, leaving Jeff standing, alone and stunned, over the patch of grass where his friend had just disappeared.

XXXX

_The world had faded into darkness. Harry looked around as various images went streaking by- images of forests, small towns, castles standing in fields, large cities, and simple views of the stars. He didn't know what was happening- the last thing he remembered was talking to Ron and Hermione, when the floor had abruptly turned to darkness beneath him. Ron and Hermione, of course, had tried to pull him back out, but it had pulled back, relentlessly taking him into its depths. And now... he didn't know where he was. _

_Finally, he seemed to touch down on some center of gravity. He could, at least, walk. Slowly, he began making his way forward in this strange, dream-like world._

_Ahead of him, he saw a staircase leading up. He didn't know what good it would do, but everything else seemed to just stretch off into oblivion, so that was the direction he took, ascending the stairs..._

XXXX

He blinked, and found himself awake, leaning against a metal wall of sorts. "What..." shaking his head, trying to clear it, he brought himself to his feet, examining his surroundings. He seemed to be trapped in a cell of sorts. Was he in a prison? If he was, it didn't resemble any prison he'd ever seen or imagined before. For a wild moment, the thought occurred that this might be Azkaban, the wizarding prison, but a simple look around was enough to prove this false- Azkaban was made of stone, and guarded by dementors, the most foul creatures ever to walk the earth. This place was made of metal, and he couldn't sense any dementors anywhere near the place.

Slowly, Harry made his way to the cell's door. On the outside was a white room that seemed to have fallen apart. As far as he could tell, there was no one else there. Feeling himself, he was glad to note that he still had his wand, tucked in his robes. He wondered if he dared to chance using magic to escape the cell- he doubted this place was Hogwarts, but on the other hand, he also knew underage sorcerers were allowed to use magic in times of crisis, and he didn't have the slightest clue what was going on. For all he knew, his life was in danger right now.

Slowly, keeping an eye out for anyone approaching, he pulled out his wand and tapped on the cell's door. "Alohamora," he whispered. A click, and the door swung open, allowing him to step out.

On the other side, he could see that the large room had several more cells all around the walls. Well, this was certainly a prison of some kind, though he couldn't imagine where. Abruptly, his attention was caught by a low, sniffing sound. Spinning around, he saw that he wasn't alone in the room after all- one of the other cells was occupied. Approaching, he saw a young man in a white shirt and black pants, curled up in a corner. Making sure to keep his wand out of sight, he approached the cell. "Hello?"

XXXX

Slowly and jerkily, Akane's eyes cracked open, revealing a blood-red sky. Looking around, she found herself to be on the roof of a large building of sorts, surrounded by a vast city. She racked her brains, but couldn't identify anything as being familiar. It was by the ocean, and on a small island off the coast stood a large tower, in the shape of a giant T, probably the most prominent landmark around- she had to wonder who had thought to build such a thing.

Where was she? One moment, she'd been talking to Ranma in the hospital, and the next, she'd woken up in this strange place. The whole city seemed deadly silent. No matter how hard she listened, she couldn't hear the slightest signs of life. Could it be... she was alone?

She shook her head as she stood. Well, she'd never know if she didn't leave this rooftop. She couldn't even really identify the building she was standing on without moving somewhere. Looking around, she was able to find a set of stairs leading back down into the building, and began her descent.

On the streets, things were little better. The whole place looked like it had been torn apart, and no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't see so much as a stray dog or cat running across the road. The whole place just felt... desolate. Like nobody had lived there in years.

She only stopped when she heard a faint voice in the distance. She froze, listening as hard as she could. If there was someone else there, someone who might be able to help her get out of this place, then she wasn't about to let them get away. Slowly, she began to move towards the voice, picking up the pace as it got louder. Finally, she rounded a corner and found the voice to be coming from a nearby arcade of sorts.

"Stupid machine, give me back my quarter!"

She pushed the door open and made her way in to find a young man dressed in a striped shirt and jeans, carrying a baseball bat that he was currently using to beat down a nearby arcade cabinet.

"Who're you?" she asked, getting into a defensive stance.

The boy turned and gave a start when he saw her. "Oh, hi! I didn't expect to see anyone else in this weird place! How's it going?" All thoughts of the arcade machine abandoned, he smiled and approached her with a hand out.

Akane, trained as she was, reacted by grabbing the hand and tossing him over her shoulder. She spun around, only to see him... floating through the air until he landed gently on his feet. He turned and brushed himself off. "Well, _that _wasn't nice," he noted, looking genuinely hurt. "I was just trying to introduce myself."

Akane was even more put off by this. "Who are you?" she asked.

The boy's eyes lit up. "Oh, you're from Japan? Awesome! You guys make some great games! My name's Ness- I'm from Eagleland!"

"'Eagleland?'" Akane repeated. "You mean America?"

"Meh, kind of," Ness shrugged. "I never really paid attention in history class... or math class... or science..."

Akane interrupted. "You speak pretty good Japanese for someone from America."

"Oh, no, I'm lousy in Japanese. Never took a single year!" Ness announced happily.

Akane's eyes narrowed. "Then... you're talking to me... how?"

Ness was still smiling. "Well, you see, I have psychic powers! Never had any trouble talking to people from different countries before- you should hear some of the things that Poo and I talk about all the time! Ah, he's such a cool guy..."

"Psychic powers?" Akane asked, glaring at him suspiciously.

"Oh, yeah- one of my great-great-great grandparents or whatever stole them from an alien species he got kidnaped by!" Ness announced, just as cheerfully as ever.

"Uh...huh," Akane nodded. "Sure."

"Don't know why the girl who has a boyfriend who turns into a girl would be so skeptical," Ness noted, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, well, the thing about that is-" Akane started, only to freeze. "HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" she shouted.

"I know, I know," Ness smirked. "Your parents arranged it, right?"

Akane glanced sketchily at Ness. "How did you know all that, anyway?"

"I told you, I'm psychic!" Ness repeated, giving a bow of sorts. "Anyways, we're really not getting anywhere- come on, let's go!"

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up, what makes you think I'm going _anywhere _with you?" Akane glared at him.

"Well, it's something my friend Jeff said," Ness shrugged, turning around. "Power in numbers! If you and I get together, we have a better chance than if we try to go it alone! I can see that I can trust you, you got here the same way I did-"

"You mean you got swallowed by some weird vortex, too?" Akane asked.

"Sure enough," Ness nodded. "And if we both got here that way, then who's to say there aren't some other people around who got here the same way? And maybe one of them will even have a way to get out!"

Akane narrowed her eyes. "Again, how do I know I can trust you?"

Ness shrugged. "I guess you really can't know for sure- I mean, even if I promise not to stab you in the back, you can't be sure that I'm not just lying. But, hey, I promise not to stab you in the back. I mean, I just want to go home, so what would I really have to gain?"

Akane was still reluctant, but nodded. "But _I'll _take the lead," she added, stepping in front of him. Ness smiled and shook his head, allowing her to do so.

XXXX

Shinji gasped as a word pierced what had hitherto been dead silence. "Hello?" He looked up from the cell he'd awoken to find himself in, and saw a young man with black hair not unlike his own- except much, _much_ messier- standing on the other side of the bars. He was dressed in black robes, round glasses, and had a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. "Wh-who're you?" he choked out.

The boy rose his hands. "Harry," he said simply. "Harry Potter."

"Are you the one who brought me here?"

Harry looked around. "No," he shook his head. "I was talking to my friends when... the floor turned black and just pulled me in. Strange story..."

Shinji stood. "That- that's what happened to me, too!" he exclaimed. "But... my friend- she's in the hospital! I need to get back!"

Harry was thinking. "So... we both got here the same way..." Looking back up, he spoke out loud. "Sorry, what was your name?"

"Oh... Shinji. Shinji Ikari."

It wasn't a name Harry had heard before. "And... who's your Quidditch team?"

"Quidditch?" Shinji repeated blankly. "What's that?"

And, apparently, he was a muggle. And yet... and yet, they seemed to be in much the same situation. He'd already used a bit of magic in his proximity- if this was a situation he'd be punished for using magic in, he was already going to be. A little more couldn't hurt...

"Well, Shinji," Harry said, "I can get you out of there, if you want."

"Do you know how to get out of this place?"

"No, I just woke up myself," Harry admitted. "But we can find out more if we get out of here than we can if we just sit around. What do you say?"

Shinji stood. "Let's go," he said.

Harry nodded, produced his wand, and slowly tapped on the cell's door. "Alohamora," he repeated, and the door clicked open. Shinji's eyes widened as he looked up at him.

"How- how did you do that?"

"Long story," Harry shook his head. "Come on, or you don't get to hear it." Not that he had any intention of telling him anyways. Shinji was trembling, but followed him out nonetheless.

"Now... where to go first?"

"The roof," Shinji said, sounding nervous even as he spoke out.

"The roof?"

"We should... get a good vantage point... see where we are, and all that... shouldn't we?"

Harry turned to examine Shinji closer. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't unlike the Neville when he'd first met said boy. Even when he was trying to defend his position, it ended up sounding less like a suggestion and more like a question. "Alright," he said, for lack of any ideas himself. "The roof it is."

As it turned out, it didn't take long to get to the roof, where they found themselves to be in a vast city. Harry shook his head- this wasn't London. Looking at Shinji, he asked, "Do you recognize this place?"

"N-no," Shinji shook his head. "This isn't Tokyo-3, that's for sure."

Harry blinked. Tokyo...3? "What do you mean, Tokyo-3?"

"You know, the third Tokyo," Shinji explained, in the air of someone explaining the ludicrously obvious. "One of the few cities still standing?"

Harry blinked. "This is the first I've heard of that."

"Second Impact?" Shinji said, turning on him with genuine confusion forming in his eyes. "Brought the Angels? Destroyed most of the world's population? You never heard of that?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "Though... if the world _did _end, I _could _imagine it looking like this..."

The city was desolate. Several of the buildings were destroyed, or in the state of falling apart. The blood-red sky was the cherry on top of the place's creepy atmosphere.

Shinji was on the point of agreeing when his eyes fell on something that made them widen. "Rei?" he stuttered out, and suddenly dashed across the rooftop. After a brief moment, Harry followed. Shinji led him to the corner, where a strange girl was laying on the floor. Shinji slowed as he approached. "No... it's not," he muttered. The blue hair resembled his old companion, but this particular girl was taller, her hair was much longer, and, in general, aside from hair color, she bore little resemblance to his friend.

"Someone you know?" Harry asked.

"No... but I thought..." Shinji mumbled, hope fading as he reached out and touched her.

Abruptly, the girl jerked, and her eyes opened, revealing them to be an even deeper shade of red than the sky. She looked up at them. "Identifying..." she said, blunt and concise. "Matching historical records... Shinji Ikari... Tokyo-3, Japan." Shinji blinked in surprise as she spoke his name, then passed to Harry. "Identifying..." she repeated. "Matching historical records... Harry James Potter... Godric's Hollow, Britain." For a moment, she looked around, as if to see if there was anyone else nearby. Finally, she simply said, "Self-identification- KOS-MOS, acronym- Kosmos Obey Strategic Multiple Operations System. I am... happy... to be... of... service..."

As she spoke, her speech slowed and distorted, until her head was slipping onto her chest.

"Hey, are you alright?" Shinji asked, bending over.

"Losing... power... locate... emergency supply... returning to minimal functions to preserve lifespan..."

With that, she shut down, returning to a state of apparent hibernation.

"She- she knew us..." Shinji gaped. Beginning to suspect something, he ran his hand along her arm. "She- I think she's a robot!"

After running a hand down the same arm, Harry reached the same conclusion. Well, that wasn't something he'd expected when he woke up that morning- being sucked up by a black vortex that left him in a prison in some desolate city next to a timid boy who apparently came from beyond the apocalypse, then finding a futuristic robot on the roof who knew his name and... almost knew where he lived. Right country, and he was _born _in Godric's Hollow, but was currently living in... he shuddered... Privet Drive.

"Do you think there's something around here that could get her some power back?" Harry asked- he wasn't familiar with robotics- then again, why should he expect Shinji to be?

"There might be," Shinji said, shaking his head hopelessly.

"Well... let's try to find something," Harry decided. "She knew who we were, which is more than either of us did when we woke up. If there's anyone who will know what's going on here... I'd put my money on her."

"Alright," Shinji nodded, standing. "Let's just... remember where we are..."

"Hold on," Harry nodded. He raised his wand to the air and shouted, "Periculum!" A jet of red light fired from his wand and into the sky, leaving a red mark above where the robot lay.

_XXXX_

Bringing the first chapter to an end. As noted before, this story is _not _to be the one-chapter affair that all the others were. I would say we've got at least four chapters worth of content here. And, yeah, disturbing lack of a certain pair of warriors (I had to chicken-peck this sentence because my cat just tackled my arm and basically _demanded _my attention), bu I promise they'll come in next chapter, appropriately titled _The Gathering. _Hope to see you all then! Please R&amp;R, constructive criticism welcome, not so much with the flames, Gamer4 out!


	2. The Gathering

Gamer4 in. Well, I'm updating this much later than I initially intended to. There are a few reasons for this, but they're largely irrelevant, and I'd rather just jump ahead to the chapter, so... here we go! 1995

Disclaimer: If you want one of these, refer to the first chapter. It's not getting repeated.

Chapter II

The Gathering

"All the leaves are brown, and the skies are grey," Ness sang out as he and Akane continued their trek through the strange city. "Goin' for a walk, on a Winter day!"

Akane grumbled as she raised a hand to her head. "Could you shut _up _already?!"

Heedless of the blue-haired girl's irritation, Ness continued with his odd rendition- "I'd be safe and warm, if I were in LA- California dreamin' on a Winter's day!"

Akane wasn't sure- she'd never heard the song before- but she was fairly certain that wasn't how the song went. She was starting to have second thoughts about her choice of companion- while he had yet to show any signs of betraying her, he was so _annoying..._

"Shouldn't we be keeping an eye out for anyone else?" she finally spoke up, interrupting him mid-verse.

"Walked into a church, that I- oh, come on, we won't miss anyone," Ness shrugged, turning to face her and beginning to walk backwards. "You've got the world's greatest detective with you!"

"I'll believe _that _when I see it," Akane muttered.

"You _better _believe it," Ness grinned. "See? I've already found a vital clue to where we are!" With this, he produced a large metal box.

"What's that?" Akane asked, her eyes lowering halfway.

"A big, metal box! I don't know, it looks like a battery of some kind."

"Uh, huh. Well, two questions, great detective," Akane spoke, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "First, where did you find it?"

"Oh, I found it in a trash can!"

"And you were looking through the trash because...?"

"I was looking for burgers!"

Akane blinked, but decided not to follow this line of questioning any further. "Alright, second question: where do you think we'll need it?"

"I don't know, but I'm sharp, I'm on it! I've got the eyes of a hawk, the ears of a fox, the eye of the tiger, the heart of a lion, and a lifetime ban from the zoo!" Satisfied with his somewhat grim joke, he turned- and found himself face-to-face with an arrow, readied in a bow, and currently pointed directly between his eyes. "Oh!" he yelped, jumping back a bit. "Hey, buddy, how's it going?"

The man holding the bow took a step forward, prompting the boy he was aiming at to take a step back. He was tall, dressed in a green tunic over what appeared to be chain mail, as well as green boots and a floppy green hat. He had messy blond hair over light blue eyes that darted between the two he was approaching. Finally, he spoke, addressing Akane. "Your companion was so loud I could have shot him in the dark."

"You're telling me," Akane grumbled, hands raising over her head.

"So, can I assume that you two are the demons who brought me here?" the young man asked, tightening the arrow threateningly.

"Nah, brah, nah, that wasn't us, man!" Ness said quickly, trying to keep his usual cheerful demeanor despite going cross-eyed to keep the arrow in view.

"We were both brought here against our wills!" Akane objected. A suspicion occurring to her, she continued the story. "I don't know about this guy, but I was visiting a friend of mine in the doctor's office when the floor turned black- I fell into it, and woke up here!"

"Pretty much the same story!" Ness put in, speaking rapidly. "Just walking around, minding my own business, this big ol' black vortex opened up and brought me here!"

The young man seemed to loosen the arrow, ever so slightly, though he showed no signs of lowering the bow. "Is that true?"

"True! True as true can be! Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a thousand needles in my eye!" Ness gulped. "Now, can you put the bow down already?"

Slowly, Link acquiesced, lowering the bow and returning the arrow to a quiver slung on his back. "Forgive me," he said slowly. "But I need to be sure that I can trust you."

His cheeriness returning now that his life was no longer in immediate peril, Ness grinned. "Hey, no prob, man! This girl tried to karate flip me when we first met!"

"'Prob?'" the man repeated, looking at Ness with a blank expression.

"Yeah, you know, like a problem!" Ness nodded. "Anyways... introductions! I'm Ness!"

"Akane," Akane said shortly, keeping an eye on the bow even as it was returned to its former position over the young man's shoulder.

"Link," the young man introduced himself. "Link Faron, warrior of Hyrule."

"'Hyrule?'" Akane repeated. "Where's that?"

"The kingdom in the mountains, blessed by the golden goddesses," Link explained. "Surely, you've heard of it?"

Ness and Akane exchanged a bemused look with each other. Each look said something similar- _What's this guy talking about?_

"Er... Ness, you think we can be sure about this guy?" Akane asked.

Ness turned to Link and closed his eyes, allowing the young man's thoughts and memories to wash over him. Opening his eyes, he stepped back in amazement. "Wow, this guy- he's awesome! A real 'strike-fear-into-the-heart-of-evil' type! Taking down all those demons and warlords- this guy puts Chuck Norris to shame!" Abruptly, Ness looked around. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean that, Chuck, of course nobody holds a candle to you- but if they did, this guy would be the one!"

Both Akane and Link stared as Ness got further and further sidetracked in his odd fantasy. Finally, Akane cleared her throat.

"And furthermore- huh?" Ness asked, turning to see Akane looking impatient and tapping her foot. "Oh, sorry about that."

"Can we trust him?"

"Oh, definitely!" Ness smiled. "This guy's like a superhero! Still not sure where Hyrule is, but..."

"What's wrong with him?" Link asked.

"He's a psychic," Akane explained roughly. "Or that's what he says, anyway- and he certainly knows things I couldn't really attribute to anything else."

"But the real thing that throws me off," Ness continued rambling, having missed everything the others said about him, "is that you were using a sword! Don't they have anything more... you know... contemporary, in Hyrule?"

"Contemporary?" Link repeated. "This blade was crafted by the finest blacksmith in Hyrule!"

"Hyrule... kingdom... swords..." Ness muttered to himself. Suddenly, he looked up, snapping his fingers. "I think... he's from the past!"

"Past?" Akane repeated, staring.

"Is it really _that _hard to believe?" Ness shrugged. "I mean, you and I are from different countries, why _not _throw time difference in, too?"

"You mean... you claim you're from the future?" Link asked, looking at the boy, not (Akane noted with surprise) with skepticism, but with thoughtfulness. "You know... that wouldn't be the furthest thing from my experience..."

"You mean, you've traveled in time before?" Akane asked, looking at him skeptically.

"Let's just say that if I've been thrown into the future, it wouldn't be an _entirely _foreign experience to me," Link affirmed. "And it would explain the architecture of this city- it's like nothing I've ever seen before..."

The group's ruminations were cut short when there was a sudden whistling noise, followed by a loud cracking. The three looked about for the source, and spied a fountain of red light in the sky, not unlike a firework. "Balls!" Ness called out excitedly. "Big, red balls!"

"You think there will be some more people over there?" Akane asked.

"That would be the likely explanation," Link nodded, leading the charge as the three began their run towards the light.

XXXX

Shinji opened his mouth in surprise as the other boy raised his stick into the air and shouted a strange word he'd never heard before. At first, he'd been wondering if he'd had the misfortune of being stuck in this city with a psycho, but then a jet of red light had fired from the wand, exploding up in the stratosphere.

This done, Harry lowered the stick and turned to look at Shinji, who was still opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish out of water. "How... wha... how..."

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, showing some genuine concern.

"What... what _are _you?" Shinji finally managed to stutter out.

Harry sighed- he didn't exactly _want _to explain himself in great detail, especially with the statute of secrecy lingering over his mind, but he was starting to think he may have to use yet more magic before the two boys got out of this crisis- it was almost certain that he'd have to explain himself at some point. "Well, long story short- I'm what you'd call a wizard."

"W-w-wizard?" Shinji stammered. "You mean like... Gandalf, and Oz, and all them?"

"Sort of," Harry sighed. "Look, you've heard about medieval witch burnings, right?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Well, there were real witches and wizards around at the time, and when they saw the conflict between them and muggles rising to that point, they decided it would be better to go into hiding than risk anything like that happening again," Harry explained. "So, to this day, they're still living in hiding all over the world."

"Even in Japan?" Shinji asked, his eyes widening.

"Well... I've never met any from Japan, but I would assume so," Harry nodded.

Shinji sat down, putting his head down between his knees. "I... I think I need to breath for a bit."

Harry nodded, taking a seat nearby. It _had _been a very strange day so far. "So," he asked, "what's your story? What's all this about... about second impact, and Tokyo-3? None of it's anything _I've _heard of."

"Fifteen years ago..." Shinji began, only to choke on his words. Slowly, he swallowed, then began to speak again. "Fifteen years ago, a meteor crashed down in the antarctic, causing the polar ice caps to melt, destroying more than half the world's population." He knew, of course, that this wasn't _strictly _the truth, but he was bound by his own code of secrecy about Second Impact's true cause. "On top of that, when it came down, these giant monsters started invading earth- we call them angels. I work for NERV- an organization that uses giant robots called Evangelions to fight the angels off and prevent _Third _Impact."

Harry shook his head. "Well, I definitely missed the memo on all of _that._"

"So, I guess the wizards had some way of keeping themselves alive?" Shinji asked, unable to keep a note of accusation out of his voice. "Keeping themselves so safe that you didn't need to worry about what was going on in the rest of the world?"

Harry blinked- this was the most assertive Shinji had been since they woke up. "No, nothing like that," he said. "The thing is... I'm a wizard-in-training. I spend the summer with my muggle family- muggles are people who don't have magic powers- and I still never heard about anything like that. As far as I know, there's never been any sort of... Second Impact."

Now Shinji was truly confused- how could anybody be oblivious to Armageddon?

He was on the point of speaking again when the doors to the roof opened and two people made themselves known- a young woman in a blue dress with short hair of a deeper blue, alongside a young man dressed entirely in green. As they approached, Harry leapt to his feet, drawing his wand on instinct, as Shinji gave a yelp and collapsed to the ground.

In response to Harry drawing his wand, Link reached for his sword, hand stopping on the handle, looking tense. "So, you want to fight, do you?" he asked. "I'm ready when you are!"

"Not exactly a fair fight," Harry noted. Glancing around and seeing Shinji rapidly trying to get as far away from the conflict as possible, he focused again on Link. "Two against one?"

"Three," Akane objected.

"Sorry?"

"Three against one."

"There are only two of you."

Akane and Link glanced behind them, only to see that Harry spoke true- Ness had vanished somewhere along the line. "Where could that idiot _possibly _have gone?!" Akane scoffed.

XXXX

Ness was running rapidly after Link and Akane, but was starting to fall behind, gasping for breath. He hadn't been the most physically fit before he set out on his journey to fight Giygas, and while he liked to think his cardio had improved somewhat in the meantime, he still had trouble sprinting over long times or distances. Looking up, he saw that the red jet seemed to not be fading as readily as most fireworks. Deciding it would still be there if he rested up a bit, he called after the others, "Alright, you guys go on ahead, I'll just... rest a while..." before collapsing next to a nearby building, gasping. They'd probably been out of earshot when he called out, but he _really _needed a breather. He leaned back against the building, taking in deep breaths of precious oxygen, when his head suddenly perked up. He thought he heard a rustling nearby. And small thuds that sounded like... footsteps. Very, very, very _light _footsteps, granted, but footsteps nonetheless. Perking his ears, he strained to catch the sound again. Closing his eyes, he reached out with his hearing and his secret sixth sense, listening for the steps and trying to sense the thoughts and emotions of whoever it was. Finally, he managed to single out a direction from which thoughts of fear and confusion were emanating, leading him to turn his head around to an alley near where he'd chosen to collapse. A very brief flash of bright orange graced his vision, leading him to blink. Putting on a strange voice, he spoke: "I taught I taw a putty tad!"

Moving slowly, he approached the alley, and blinked as the flash of orange made itself seen once more. "I did! I did! I did tee a putty tad!"

To anyone besides Ness, the sighting of a cat lurking in a city's streets might be completely innocuous, but despite the way he normally acted, he was, beneath the surface, a thoughtful, intelligent young man- not as intelligent as Jeff, to be sure, but he had, at the very least, been taking notes about the city ever since his initial arrival- prior to meeting up with Akane, the city had been entirely empty. No signs of life of any kind- not even a stray cat. Which made the appearance of this cat, in particular, somewhat jarring. He knew it seemed unimportant- and for all he knew, it was- but it was enough to catch his interest.

Raising his voice, he began letting out soft cooing and clicking noises of the type that his family usually used to call in pets. Abruptly, he remembered himself and shook his head. _What am I _doing_? _he wondered- he was a psychic, for crying out loud, he could talk to animals!

"Hey, cat?" he asked tentatively. "Cat? Are you there? Hey... I'm not a bad guy, I'm just a kid, I just wanna talk, I don't wanna hurt you..."

Straining, allowing his psychic powers to do their thing, he heard a voice speaking to him. "I can understand him- _how _can I understand him?"

"Easy- I'm a psychic! I can talk to animals!"

The voice froze. Ness circled around the corner to see a cat with a bright orange pelt looking up at him, eyes wide and backing away slowly. "A twoleg... that can talk to cats?" the cat spoke, eyes never flitting away. "Well, I guess I can say I've seen everything now..."

"Caught me by surprise, too," Ness nodded, raising his hands and trying to seem as non-threatening as possible. "I mean, when I was younger, and I suddenly heard my dog talking, it took me a while to understand what was going on-"

As he spoke, he attempted to approach, only for the cat to hiss and retreat several paces. "Stay away from me, twoleg!" he growled. "I know what you want- you want to keep me as a pet, take me to the cutter, keep me as your plaything!"

Ness shook his head. "No, no, nothing like that!"

"You're probably the one who brought me here to begin with!"

"No, nothing like that at all!" Ness chuckled. "I don't know how I got here myself- like I keep saying, I just fell into the ground when it turned black, and woke up here!"

The cat eyed him up and down. "You mean... you, too?"

"Yeah," Ness nodded. "I met up with some other people- er, twolegs- and they got brought here the same way, so we were going to meet up and try to find a way back home. I'm sure we could include you, too."

"I don't deal with twolegs," the cat hissed.

"Well, hate to say it, but I haven't seen any other cats around this city," Ness shrugged. "I think, if you want to get home, you might have to bend on that rule a bit."

The cat still seemed distrustful, but slowly nodded. "Alright, I'll join you... for now. But I don't want you treating me like a kittypet, understand?"

"Scout's honor," Ness smiled, placing his right hand over his heart and raising his left in a sort of salute. "I won't even touch you without permission."

"Good."

For a moment, the two stood there, as if unsure what to do next. "So, umm... what's your name? I'm Ness."

"Fireheart," the cat spoke, standing up straight as he spoke the next portion. "Warrior of Thunderclan."

XXXX

"It's just as well- he was just hindering us," Link shrugged off the disappearance of their companion.

Akane wasn't as certain- the boy had, at least, spoken true when he'd noted power in numbers- but, for the moment, she brushed it aside.

Harry, meanwhile, wasn't certain what these people wanted, but if he could avoid a conflict, that would be for the best. "Look, we don't have to fight- there's no reason for it," he said quickly. "This boy and I just woke up in this city, we have no idea how we got here, and we're just looking for a way to get back home."

Akane cast her eyes over to the boy on the ground- he looked sad, scared, and pathetic as he eyed the tension apprehensively. Her heart went out to him- if he really _was _in the same boat as they were...

"Forgive me if I don't trust you so readily," Link growled. "I see what happened to the last person who trusted you too quickly."

"What do you mean?" Akane asked, perking up at these words and glancing at the swordsman in confusion.

"The girl," Link muttered, indicating an area of the roof they stood on with his head so that he could keep his eyes on Harry. "You don't think she collapsed like that without reason, do you?"

Akane looked at the corner of the roof he'd indicated, and gasped as she saw a young woman with light blue hair slumped against the wall, unconscious. She turned her attention back to the two boys. Perhaps she _had _been too quick to judge- either that boy was putting on an act, or was just as much a victim of the one with the glasses as the girl was...

"Hey, guys!" came a voice from the door leading back down, and everyone turned to see Ness arriving. "You'll never guess what I- what's going on?" the boy asked, blinking at the open shows of hostility on all sides.

"Is this your third friend?" Harry asked.

"I am he!" Ness nodded, grinning widely. "What's going on, peoples? Link, what's with the sword?"

"We can't trust this guy, Ness," Akane muttered warningly. "They've already caught one girl..."

"What?" Harry asked, looking from her to where KOS-MOS lay. Suddenly, comprehension lit up his face. "Oh, you think- no! No, it's not like that at all! We found her like that!"

"You expect us to believe that?" Link growled, grip tightening on his blade. "At least own up to your crimes!"

"It's true!" Shinji joined in, backing Harry up. "She's some sort of robot- when we found her, she activated, but then powered down- something about needing to find another power source..."

As Shinji spoke, Ness's eyes lit up, and he dashed across the roof to where the robot herself lay.

"Robot?" Link asked confusedly. "What do you mean by that?"

"He's lying," Akane hissed- and to think she'd been pitying this boy before! "Robots don't exist except in stories!"

"That's what I thought, too," Harry agreed, "but that's the only thing she could be- go over and feel her!"

Wrong choice of words. "Why, you'd like that, wouldn't you, you-" Akane started, rage filling her up, only for Ness to interrupt.

"Whoa, buddy!" he called out, and everyone turned to see him kneeling down next to the girl, who was beginning to vibrate. Slowly, her eyes opened, and she spoke.

"Identifying," she spoke out. "Matching historical records... Ness Locke, Onette, Eagleland." For a moment, she looked around, and, seeing nobody else in her immediate line of sight, spoke again. "Self-identification- KOS-MOS. Acronym- Kosmos Obey Strategic Multiple Operations System. I am happy to be of service."

Slowly, seeing that there might be some merit to Shinji's exclamation after all, Akane lowered her defenses, approaching the strange young woman. Link, seeing Akane do this, followed suit. Everyone was so distracted that they didn't even notice Fireheart arriving on the scene as well.

KOS-MOS tilted her head as she saw the others approaching. "Identifying," she spoke. "Matching historical records... Akane Tendo, Nerima, Japan." Turning to Link, she tilted her head, as though in confusion. "Unable to identify. Bears strong resemblance to Link Faron, in Hyrulian lore." And, finally, becoming the first to notice the seventh arrival, she added, "Species identification- Felis Catus, also known as a common house cat."

Fireheart let out a hiss at being addressed as such. Ness spoke up. "Yeah, about that- he doesn't exactly like being called that- he'd prefer to be addressed as a 'Warrior of Thunderclan,'" he explained.

Everyone turned to stare at him. Akane raised a hand to her face. "Ness... don't tell me..."

"What? I speak cat."

"Of course you do," she muttered. Things just kept getting crazier and crazier.

XXXX

Abruptly, in her darkened room, the figure in blue robes looked up. "So, they've finally gathered together," she muttered. This was her last chance- if she failed this time, then she'd failed altogether. She'd failed in their worlds, but here, she had the home field advantage. If, even here, she failed to prove her point...

She didn't like to think what that might mean for her.

_XXXX_

Sorry if it seems like I'm cutting this chapter suddenly, but this scene could have gone on for a while longer, and probably will in the next chapter. For now, the chapter's a decent length, and I've got even more writing to do before I go to bed- and it's getting late as is- so I thought this would be a decent place to stop. Hopefully, you agree, but whether you do or don't, to let me know, please R&amp;R, constructive criticism embraced, as my quest is, eternally, to become the best writer I can be, flames will not be nearly helpful in that quest, Gamer4 out!


	3. The Shadow out of Time

Gamer4 in! Two months late! Huzzah! (Note sarcasm in that huzzah, there.) Coming back with another chapter, finally, after all this time. Sorry about the wait, but writer's block hit me, and hit me hard. For this story. The thing is, writer's block for this story was accompanied by a number of ideas for different stories, especially the 'main' story I'm working on, _Mario Mario and the Bottle of Lightning. _However, it's really been too long since the last update, especially considering my 'writing schedule' (as much as it actually exists to begin with) called for this mini-series to be done by now. I don't want to make it sound like I'm not enthusiastic to write this story, or like I'm just writing it to get it overwith- no, if that were the case, I wouldn't be writing it at all. It was mostly a series of unfortunate events that prevented me from writing this story- and, occasionally, at all- so I hope you guys can forgive that hiatus, as we dive into the next chapter before I drag out these notes any longer.

Disclaimer: Feels kind of odd to be writing this one out, I'm saving my _Don Quixote _song for _Bottle of Lightning _disclaimers... er... how about that one Bach composition, you know, the one that everyone thinks is from Dracula? It would fit in with the Lovecraftian chapter title, at least...

Chapter III

The Shadow out of Time

A long, uncomfortable silence followed, broken, ultimately, by none other than Shinji Ikari, raising his hands and waving them around, seeming confused. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, back up! So... _who _are you people?"

"I am _so _glad you asked!" Ness grinned, turning on him and sidling up uncomfortably close. Ignoring Akane's exasperated sigh, he began, in a voice like he was trying to rap- badly- "199X on a distant night, a young man was awoken by a meteorite! His homy came 'round, saying 'What's that sound?' so the G and his dog went to-"

"And _that's _enough of _that_," Akane interrupted, stepping forward to glower at the boy.

"Oh- sorry," Ness responded sheepishly. "Not the time?"

"Is... is something wrong with him?" Shinji asked, sounding nervous.

"Is something wrong with _me?_" Ness asked, spinning around on him. "Is something wrong with _me?!"_

"Sorry!" Shinji quickly fell back on his tried-and-true reaction to conflict. "Sorry! So, so, sorry!"

"Nah, you're actually pretty spot-on," Ness smiled, leaning back and suddenly cooling down. "But still, I think the real question is, is anything _right _with _you?_ I mean, mother dead at that age, father never really around- at all- and not even to _mention _what that Seal group is up to-"

"S-Seal?" Shinji asked, looking more scared and bemused by the second. "Is-isn't that a kind of animal that died off in Second Impact?"

"Second Impact?" Link asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, sorry- SEELE," Ness re-entered the conversation, shaking his head. "Didn't realized how it was pronounced- sorry."

"But how- how could you _know _about all that?" Shinji asked, looking terrified, earning him some sympathy from Akane.

"He says he's a mind-reader," she explained. "He doesn't seem to get that most people don't _like _getting their minds probed like that!" she added, throwing a glare at the young psychic.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Ness quickly said, raising his hands in surrender. "Okay, if you say so, I'll stay out of everyone's minds from now on!"

"I'd... appreciate that, yeah," Shinji noted forlornly. He felt like everything had turned upside-down... pretty much ever since Misato had mentioned Karasu to him and Asuka for the first time. The idea that someone could read his thoughts? Unbelievable, but... so was everything else that had happened so far.

Everything was interrupted as a mewling noise met his ears, and everyone turned to see the orange cat, mouth open and meowing.

"Oh, sorry, Fireheart," Ness said quickly. "Forgot- yeah, Fireheart wants to know what Second Impact is, too. Wouldn't mind knowing myself, come to it. Never heard of anything like that, and since Akane won't let me just _read your mind..._" He honestly sounded like a petulant child, despite the slight smile that suggested he wasn't really that annoyed by it.

"Yeah, if you could stay out of my mind, I'd appreciate it," Harry spoke up. "I'm getting enough of that back home, thanks. Wherever 'home' is, now."

Everyone silenced as they looked up at each other, Harry's words hanging over them, almost like a dark cloud.

"Home- where _is _home?" Shinji agreed, wondering out loud.

"That's a key question, indeed," Link put in. "I still don't know for certain if I can trust all of you, but it's starting to look as though we'll have to work together to get out of this city- to return to our 'homes'- so, perhaps we should tell each other a little bit about ourselves. Where... where are our homes?"

"And don't forget 'when,'" Ness put in.

"When?" Harry asked sharply. "What do you mean, 'when?'"

"What, isn't it obvious?" Ness asked, eyebrows raised. "Even if I was skeptical about it before, seeing her here basically proves it." Here, he looked over at KOS-MOS, silent all this time, causing a couple of the others to jump as they recalled she was even present.

Fireheart approached her and sniffed, searching for her scent. Turning back to Ness, he noted- "She looks like a twoleg, but... her scent's all wrong..."

"Because she's not a twoleg," Ness agreed, shaking his head. "She's a robot- er... how do I explain it? Sort of a... kind of like a twoleg made from metal by other twolegs... that probably doesn't explain it all that well... anyways, the point is, we've got robots of a kind in my time, but _nothing _this advanced!"

"And we have nothing even remotely like this in my time," Link agreed, examining the blue-haired girl closer. "A human made by humans... who is not human. This is... amazing."

"Why don't you step back a bit, you pervert?" Akane growled, her trained eye zoning in on the two.

"Asuka?" Shinji spoke up, drawing eyes onto him.

"What?" Akane asked, confused.

Shinji coughed, seemingly remembering himself. "Nothing- it's just... you remind me of someone."

They were interrupted by another meow from Fireheart. "What is with that cat?" Akane asked, gazing down at it.

Another meow, and Ness joined in, rolling his eyes. "I know, Fireheart, they're just not listening properly," he said exasperatedly. Addressing the others, he said, "Fireheart thinks we should find shelter- somewhere to stay for the night."

"That'd be nice, yeah," Harry agreed. "I don't know about talking cats, but if we're really going to be working together, maybe we should find a place to rest for the night, and maybe try to find out a little more about each other."

Abruptly, KOS-MOS spoke up, concise and blunt, as always. "There is a hotel approximately 2.34 miles from here- it is abandoned, but at current range, it may hold the greatest accommodations readily available to us from this vantage point."

Everyone stared at her for a moment as she headed to the stairwell. Finally, Ness shrugged. "Follow the leader!" he grinned, taking off after her.

Akane shook her head. "That boy would be lost without me," she grumbled as she followed, Fireheart hot on her heels.

Link and Harry looked uncertainly at each other for a moment, before apparently deciding to shelve their earlier differences, turning and following everyone else without comment.

Shinji, left alone on the roof, was trembling nervously. "She- she _really _reminds me of Rei," he muttered, reminded of how much he missed everyone back home. Rei, Misato, Toji, Kensuke, even Asuka... If there was _any _chance that they could help him get back home, he'd take it. So, against his better judgement, he ran after them, bringing up the rear in the line making their way from the jail building.

XXXX

As KOS-MOS had noted, the hotel that they arrived at was pretty rundown, bearing the same sense of ill care that hung over everything in the city. However, it was still standing, and was reasonably warm compared to the chill in the streets. The group didn't climb too high, choosing a room on the second floor to make their temporary camp in. Ness, naturally, was bouncing around the room like he was ready for a slumber party.

"Ness, will you calm down already and get over here!" Akane shouted over to him. She and all the others were gathering around a table, as Ness was 'oohing' and 'aahing' at all the sights.

"Oh, right," the young man said sheepishly, making his way over. "So, what's our next move?"

"Well, first off, the cat can get off the table," Akane growled, shoving Fireheart off of the table he'd just been standing on. He landed on the ground with an indignant mew.

"Oh, come on, Fireheart has as much right to be at the table as anyone else," Ness argued.

Akane sighed. "Look, I don't know what you're trying to pull with that cat, but none of us really believe you're talking to him... or at least, I _hope_ none of us do," she added hopelessly, staring around at the congregation.

"Likelihood of psychic contact between human and feline- slim," KOS-MOS said simply.

"I-it's really not something that I've heard of," Shinji stammered out.

Link and Harry, however, seemed thoughtful. "I _have _heard of people who could communicate with cats before," Link commented. "They required certain artifacts, but if we're believing that boy has psychic abilities already..."

"And I've known some pretty smart cats," Harry commented. "Smart enough that I'm sure someone who can read minds would be able to communicate with them somehow..."

"I don't believe this," Akane growled. "The cat's not talking, end of story!"

"'The cat' has a name!" came a voice that none of them had heard thus far. "Ness, can't you do something about this, I'm sick of only talking to them through you!"

"Already did!" came Ness's voice from a nearby kitchen unit- he was grinning as he made his way through the cupboards. "Bit of psychic hoodoo- same thing I did so Jeff and Poo could understand each other! Ah, those guys are so awesome, I hope I get to see them again..."

"Ness..." Akane spoke, eyes wide. "Who- who was that? Who're you talking to?"

"Oh, that's Fireheart!" Ness replied, still rummaging around in the cupboards, looking for who-knew-what. "I expanded the psychic field- or something like that. Not really sure how it all works, I just use the powers, I didn't study them like my grandpa did, but you guys can hear Fireheart now! Should have gotten around to it earlier, really."

Shinji froze up as he heard this, and slowly turned his head to the orange cat as he hopped back up onto the table. "Hello... cat?"

"I told you, I have a name!" the cat spoke, turning his eyes to the black-haired boy. "I'm a warrior of Thunderclan, and my name's Fireheart!"

Akane's jaw dropped. "O-okay... I'll take it back..."

"And... BAMF!" Ness whooped as he slammed something down in the middle of the table, causing everyone to flinch back. "Got it, got it, got it! Good ol' Ness has the solution to all your problems! No need to thank me."

Everyone stared at what he'd slammed down- a cup containing an apparent seven straws.

"Um... Ness, right?" Harry asked, staring.

"That's right!" Ness grinned, nodding.

"Well... I'm sure I'm asking for everyone else when I say this..."

"What are you doing?" Link intervened.

"Well... yeah."

"Isn't it obvious?" Ness asked, sounding somewhat impatient that the others weren't already all caught up with his brilliant plan.

"Ness," Akane spoke up, hands together in front of her face, "Pretend, for a moment- just pretend, humor me here- that not everyone in the world has your mind-reading powers, and doesn't know what you're going to say before you say it. Then go ahead and explain what you're doing, as you would to those people."

"Oh, fine!" Ness sighed over-dramatically, taking a seat next to where Fireheart sat on the table itself. "Look, Link and Harry said it themselves- we need to know more about each other, so I figured this would be the best way! I wrote a number between one and seven on each of the straws, so we'll all draw one- I'll just take whatever's left- and then, in the order on the straws, we each get to tell our story!"

Shinji glanced nervously from the straws to the boy standing there, grinning as though he'd just introduced a plan to solve world hunger and halt global warming in its tracks. "Er... I'm not so sure that's the best idea..."

"No holding back, either!" Ness interrupted, detecting the unease in his voice. "We're all friends here, and what stays in the dilapidated hotel room, stays in the dilapidated hotel room! Anything holding you guys back from speaking, consider it officially suspended until we get out of this weird city! Any codes of silence, or- I don't know- _statutes of secrecy-_"

"Hold on!" Harry interrupted. "I thought you weren't reading our minds anymore!"

"Picked it up before Akane told me to stop," Ness shrugged apologetically. "Anyways, that also has a flip side- whatever anyone says, we'll just accept it as true, for the moment! Even if someone swears to have ridden a unicorn to the bottom of Lake Tess so they could ride Tessie to Stonehenge, which happens to hide an evil alien base, save your skepticism for when you get home!"

"Let me guess- you honestly think something like that happened to you," Akane noted, glaring at the boy.

"Oh, no, of course not, total ridiculousness!" Ness affirmed. "I didn't use a unicorn."

"Should have seen that coming," Akane muttered.

"So, before we draw!" Ness declared, "How about we just get the brief introductions out of the way? I'm Ness-" here, he paused for a second, as though expecting something. Nobody else spoke, simply staring at him. Seemingly disappointed, he continued. "Yeah, I'm Ness, and I'm from Eagleland, the year 199X. Quick summary- I fight aliens with my baseball bat and psychic powers."

"Wait a moment," Fireheart spoke. "I thought we were... er... _drawing straws _before we told our stories?"

"Well, I thought we could tell each other at least where we come from, when, and just a quick little introduction before we get to the stories of how we actually got here," Ness shrugged.

"Alright," Akane spoke up. "I'm Akane Tendo, I'm from Nerima, in Japan, 1996, and heir to the Tendo school of Anything-Goes martial arts. Aside from that, I've been handling some... unusual problems in the city for a while now, along with Ranma, heir to the Saotome school."

"Who," Ness added, "happens to turn into a girl when splashed with cold water, and yet she _still _thinks a cat couldn't talk."

"Ness, _shut up!_" Akane growled. "Anyways, who wants to go next?"

"I will," Link spoke. "Just to get it out of the way- I'm Link Faron, a warrior of the great kingdom of Hyrule. I'm not sure what year it might be on your calendar, but it certainly seems to be far in your pasts. It's my job to defend the kingdom from the evil that is always at our gates, coveting our green land."

"A twoleg after my own heart," Fireheart noted. "I'm Fireheart, a warrior of Thunderclan, one of the four clans that lives in the forest. I don't know where the forest might be, according to you, or any sort of year, but as a warrior, it is my duty to defend Thunderclan from any intruders."

A moment of silence followed this, before finally, Harry spoke up. "Well, it doesn't look like anyone else will go next, so... I'm Harry Potter, from Great Britain, 1995. I'm..." for a moment, he choked on his words.

"No statute of secrecy here, buddy," Ness repeated. "You don't tell anybody, we won't either."

Harry held his tongue for one more second before sighing and saying, "I'm a wizard in training at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"A wizard?" Akane asked skeptically.

"It's true!" Shinji interjected. "That jet of light that led you to us- that was him."

"We've been in hiding ever since medieval times," Harry explained. "Whenever we came out, it was nothing but trouble, so we decided to just stay in hiding."

"Makes sense to me!" Ness agreed. "So, Shinji- why not tell everyone your story, huh?"

"Oh, me?" Shinji asked, recoiling into his chair. "Well... I don't know if I'm really comfortable... why not ask KOS-MOS?"

Ness gave a slight jump as he turned to the final person at the table- KOS-MOS, sitting perfectly still and watching the proceedings with quiet interest. "Whoa- almost forgot she was here! Kind of like she doesn't talk unless someone's talking to her!"

"Really reminds me of Rei," Shinji noted quietly.

"Oooh!" Ness perked up, eyes lighting. "And who's this 'Rei?'"

"Ness, quiet!" Akane growled out, eyes on KOS-MOS. "Er... _KOS-MOS..._could you repeat that?"

"As I have said many times now," the red-eyed robot stated, "I am KOS-MOS KP-X, developed in the year 4767 T.C., a year that would, in your time, be expressed as 6015 AD, or alternatively, 6015 CE. I was constructed by Shion Uzuki to serve aboard the ship, the S.S. Tasha. However, on the very day I was activated, the ship-"

"Okay, that's enough for now," Ness interrupted. "We'll get to your story eventually, but for now, we need to hear what Shin-Shin here's got to say!"

"Please... just call me Shinji," Shinji said quietly, gaze fixed on the table.

"Oh- sorry," Ness backed off, sounding somewhat sheepish. "So... what's your story, Shinji?"

"I... I'm Shinji Ikari, from... Tokyo-3, Japan... year... 2015... Fifteen years ago, a meteorite struck earth, causing an apocalyptic event known as Second Impact..." Shinji couldn't help but notice that Ness raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't interrupt. "Along with it came... these creatures called angels, bent on destroying what's left of humanity in a Third Impact... I'm with NERV, an organization that uses giant robots called Evangelions to prevent that."

For a moment, everyone else was silent. "Well..." Harry spoke, eyeing Shinji with one brow up, "that... doesn't sound like a very happy future."

Akane, a year ahead of Harry, couldn't help but agree. "You know, Harry and I are pretty close to when you're saying this is supposed to happen... do you think there's any way we could stop it?"

Shinji blinked, looking up. He hadn't even thought of that... _was _it possible that these people, returned to their own times, could stop one of the greatest cataclysms known to man? But... but what would that mean for _him_? What would happen to him if time were to change like that-

"Well, let's worry about that later," Ness interrupted. "It's _way _too early to be talking about the effects of time travel, so how about we work out a way to get back home before worrying about that kind of stuff, hm?"

Everyone stared at him, with expressions ranging from exasperated to agitated to, in KOS-MOS's case, completely indifferent. The next one to speak, however, was Link. "It may sound cruel, but I have to agree with him. Even if you wish to change time to prevent this tragedy... it would still not be possible without returning to our homes first. In the end, even if you wish to change time- something I may be able to speak to- returning home should still take precedence."

"So..." Ness spoke, looking slightly unnerved at the less-than-warm reception to his previous comment, "maybe... maybe we should draw ourselves some straws?"

Everyone was quiet as Link nodded and quietly reached forward, taking a straw and glancing at the end for his number. The next to move was Fireheart, who, despite not seeming any more happy with the news about Second Impact than Harry or Akane, stepped forward and grasped one of the straws in his mouth. One by one, all the others fell in, until there were only two straws left. Ness looked up. "You gonna take one, KOS-MOS?"

"Very well," KOS-MOS nodded, finally reaching forward to take hers.

Ness shrugged it off and took his. "Alright, I am number two," he announced. "Who's got number one?"

Everyone looked around, until Link drew their attention, raising his hand slightly. "I believe this is the number 1," he noted, examining his straw. "Unless numbers have changed a great deal since my time..."

"No, that's it," Akane confirmed, examining it over his shoulder. "Looks like you get to tell your story first."

"Alright, here's the deal," Ness announced. "Tell us everything that happened, leading up to you getting pulled into that vortex- there has to be a reason that the seven of us got pulled to this weirdo place, something that connects us together- so don't hesitate to include anything. Even the smallest detail, don't feel like an idiot for including it."

"Alright," Link agreed. "I believe that it began with the kidnaping of Princess Zelda- she was investigating a nearby castle that had been empty for years, that had just been taken by a strange woman calling herself Lady Gavran. She was concerned about her intentions, and was right to be so, because this Lady had revived Vaati, one of my old enemies. Entering the castle with my comrade, Impa, we were able to defeat Vaati, at the cost of Impa's own life, but then Gavran herself appeared- she seemed strange, to me, with pale skin and long, blue hair..."

There was a thunking noise, and Link looked up to see looks of shock on the faces of everyone else present, sans Fireheart. "Was... was it something I said?" he asked.

"Say it again... describe that woman, Lady Gavran, again!" Akane said, sounding urgent.

"She was tall, and young- not far past twenty, I'd say- with pale skin and dark blue hair that came down to her back. Is... is that significant?"

Everyone else looked at each other, seeing the shock clearly present in each other's faces. "Okay... Ness, you're 2, talk quickly," Akane said.

"Well, funny you should say such a thing," Ness agreed, "because I had just gotten home from a several months-long odyssey, when I found my hometown being oppressed by this street gang- they called themselves the blue bloods, dressed in these blue jackets, and they were led by this woman- she called herself Corvus, tall, early twenties, pale skin, long blue hair!"

"Three, three, who's got three?!" Akane asked urgently.

"Um..." Shinji gasped, looking at his own straw, "We were just getting a new pilot, Karasu, and we were glad that there was some new blood, until she started threatening us, and eventually just went insane, hijacked an Evangelion, and started attacking the city!"

"And what did she look like?"

"Er... pale skin, blue hair, but-"

"My turn!" Akane interrupted. "My dojo was attacked by this other Master's school- she called herself Wu Ya, and they all wore these blue outfits. As for her- tall, pale skin, long blue hair!"

"I'm cutting ahead a bit," Harry spoke up, glancing at his straw with the number 7 on it, "but I was just entering a dueling tournament, and the duelists were all being murdered by this girl- she called herself Varnas, and... pale skin, blue hair."

"Well... that's creepy," Ness noted.

"I'd say so," Akane agreed. "But what about you, KOS-MOS? Did you meet someone like that?"

"Not exactly," KOS-MOS recalled, not speaking with nearly the level of urgency the others would have liked. "My ship was attacked by its own AI, known as the RV-10 system. As a computer, it had little physical form, but when I uploaded my own core AI into the system to do battle with it... it manifested as-"

"Let me guess," Link interrupted. "A tall woman with pale skin and blue hair?"

"Indeed."

"Which only leaves you, Fireheart!" Ness spoke, turning on the cat. "Did you see a twoleg before you got sent here? One with pale skin and blue hair?"

"No, it's been moons since we've seen any twolegs in the forest," Fireheart shook his head. "But..."

"But?"

"Well... Shadowclan was acting more hostile towards us than usual, so my leader, Bluestar, sent me and my friends to investigate their territory, and we found a... a massive creature there. Like a fox, but bigger, and so much more vicious..."

"What of it?" Akane asked impatiently.

"Its pelt... it was blue. And its eyes as well- Blackfoot called it a blue-eyed beast."

"Well, there you go," Ness exclaimed, brandishing his hands. "What sort of creature has actual blue fur like that?"

"What do you mean, 'there you go?'" Akane asked. "I mean... what does all this mean?"

"Oh, come _on,_ Akane!" Ness exclaimed. "We all get attacked by this pale, blue-haired woman, and you _still _don't see the connection?"

"I see that there _is _a connection," Akane shook her head, "but that doesn't mean I _understand _it!"

"No, I think I see what you mean," Link put in, raising his hand. "You think this is the same entity, manifesting itself repeatedly across time... right?"

"That's what it's starting to look like," Harry agreed. "I can't think of any other way we'd all have such similar stories."

"No... but wait... Karasu died! Her Evangelion collapsed, and she _died_!" Shinji exclaimed, fear filling his eyes. "Are you saying that her brain was somehow uploaded to become a ship's AI... four thousand years later?"

"No... that doesn't make any sense, either," Ness shook his head.

"Not that any of this makes sense to begin with," Akane couldn't help but put in.

"Indeed, that would stretch my belief," Link agreed. "I killed Lady Gavran myself- I ran the Master Sword through her chest. She shouldn't have been able to return after that."

"The same for the Blue-Eyed Beast," Fireheart agreed. "It took the help of my friends, but we left that thing dead in a cave."

"With a box of scraps?" Ness suggested lightly.

"_Not _the time!" Akane interrupted, glowering. "I don't know exactly what happened to Wu Ya, either, but she shouldn't have just gotten up from where I left her..."

"Varnas killed herself," Harry agreed. "She gave me this speech about how humanity is the real monsters, or something like that, then she turned her wand on herself... and killed herself!"

"And Jeff dealt with Corvus pretty good," Ness nodded, raising his hands in a strange gesture. "So... I guess this means that whatever this... _thing _is, death doesn't mean much to it."

"But wait..." Shinji stammered, trembling as he raised his hand. "If none of us could stop this... this woman on our own... then how can we stop her now?"

"Simple- you don't," came a new voice, and everyone spun around and let out a series of shocked reactions, ranging from leaping back to hissing and back-arching, as they saw a young woman standing there. She was familiar to them all- a young woman with pale skin and blue hair, cut to her shoulders. However, she looked different here- while she had always appeared dressed in blue, here, she wore a blue robe over a black leotard, complete with a broach featuring a bird of some kind holding her robe together. On her forehead was a red jewel.

Everyone reacted at once, calling her by the name they'd come to know her by. Even Shinji lost his fearful demeanor, fury filling every inch of his face.

"Wrong," the woman shook her head. "Wrong, on all counts. Gavran, Corvus, Varnas, Karasu, Wu Ya, Blue-Eyed Beast, RV-10- all words that describe my incarnations, but never coming close to who _I _am, myself. There shouldn't be any more secrets between us- not after we've spent so long bonding. I've spent so long coming to all of your worlds, trying to show you the truth, but no matter how much I try, you refuse to see it- not anymore. This is my world, now, and you'll play by my rules. My name is Raven, and I'm the one who brought you all here."

"Why?" spoke a voice from the other end of the room, and everyone turned to see KOS-MOS, of all people, standing up, genuine anger seeming to fill her voice. "Why have you done these things? You are a human- you are free to act as you will, and yet you choose to attack us, and endanger those we care about-"

"You can quit with all those speeches right now," Raven spoke, eyes flaring up. "Believe me, I've heard enough of them to last a lifetime- helped deliver a few of them at one point, as a matter of fact. I didn't bring you here to preach to me, I had enough of that when I was in your worlds, thank you very much. No, you're here to finally see the truth. If you still can't see the truth of this world you keep fighting for after going through this world, then you truly are blind."

"I've had enough of your crap!" Akane shouted, leaping up and swinging a punch at Raven. Everyone watched in astonishment as her fist passed directly through.

"I'll give you a C for effort," Raven muttered, "but I hope you've developed your technique by the time you find me."

"Find you? You're not here?" Shinji asked.

"She's not," Fireheart agreed. "I can see her, that's for sure- but I can't smell her. No trace of a scent coming from her..."

"Yeah, and I can't sense her psychic presence either," Ness agreed. "We're just looking at a projection here."

"Very good," Raven congratulated, turning on the boy.

"Then why'd you bring us here, if you don't want to fight us?"

"What have I been saying the whole time?" Raven retorted. "I want to teach you a lesson. If you really want to return home, then come find me- I'm at the tower overlooking the city. The one shaped like a giant T."

"Why don't you come to us, and we'll settle this here?" Link suggested, eyes narrowed and using his hand to grasp at his sword.

"Where would the fun be in that?" Raven shrugged. "Like I said, fighting you isn't the point. I think I mentioned that to you as Gavran- I don't want to kill you, I want to show you the truth. And let's just say that any trip to my tower will be a little more eventful than a simple road trip. When you finally get there, we'll talk."

"Enough of this," Harry muttered, standing and brandishing his wand. "Stupefy!" A jet of red light fired from his wand. The next moment, the illusion was broken, and Raven disappeared, leaving the seven behind, staring at the spot where she'd stood.

_XXXX_

Finally getting this chapter out- I think the best thing about this particular part of the mini-series is also the worst thing- the source material, that _Live A Live _game I won't shut up about, doesn't give me much to work with in this part. Yes, this is based on the final chapter of that game, but, as anyone who's played the game can tell you, the final chapter is mostly just getting a feel for the characters at your disposal, and then getting them strong enough (preferably level 16 or higher, and grabbing the ultimate weapons) to take on the final boss. There's story, of course, said ultimate weapons are in hidden dungeons, and the final confrontation leaves nothing to be desired, but, at least the way I play, there's still a great deal of grinding involved. For those who were curious, my final party was the Sundown Kid, Pogo, Li, and Oboro, or Ness, Fireheart, Akane, and Link. Just my preferred setup. Anyways, enough rambling- depending on a few different things, there should be three chapters left in this story, the next of which will be up on- well, as anyone who reads _Bottle of Lightning _knows, I don't set times for myself, because they curse me more often than help me, but I definitely hope it'll be up sooner than this one was. My original plan was to upload a chapter of BoL, chapter of this, chapter of BoL, chapter of this, so I'll try to get back to that. In the meantime, please R&amp;R, constructive criticism embraced, flames not so much, Gamer4 out!


	4. The Night Before

Gamer4 in. You know what, maybe I should just stop making declarative statements about my stories' futures in general. Every time I do, something happens to prove me wrong- I say a chapter will be coming out soon, a hiatus ensues. I say I'll be going on hiatus, I get five chapters out in two weeks. I say that a story will be going on for a long time, it ends two or three chapters later. I say a story only has three chapters left to live, then realize that the story can't _really _be wrapped up that quickly, and may have at least seven, but I won't come out and say that, because who _knows _what would happen then? Bottom line- this story will go on as long as it needs to in order to come to a satisfying conclusion. Not longer, not shorter, and I will _not _go into detail on when those chapters might be coming out, because regardless of what I say, it'll inevitably be wrong! Hooh, boy. Anyways, got some talking and drama in this chapter, so let's dive right in!

Disclaimer: Anyone like Kansas? Carry on, my wayward son... there'll be peace when you are done... lay your weary head to rest... don't you cry no more...

Chapter IV

The Night Before

For a long while, everyone stood there, staring at the spot where their antagonist had so abruptly disappeared. Finally, Shinji spoke up- without the immediate threat of Raven to get his adrenaline pumping, he was back to stuttering. "So... what... what now?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Akane asked, jumping up with fury in her eyes. "We're going to track that... that _witch _down and threaten to beat her into a bloody _pulp _if she doesn't send us back home- and then do it anyways!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ness called out, holding up his hands. "Easy there! Calm down, buddy!"

"Calm down?! Calm down?! _Calm down?! _Don't tell _me _to calm down, you _baka! _That friend of mine- the one that turns into a girl when he gets splashed with water- he is in the _hospital _right now, _and she's the one who put him there! _You do _not _get to tell me to calm down!"

Shinji, trembling at making his view heard, nonetheless spoke up. "I... I think I'm with her, Ness. I have a friend in the hospital because of her, too." As he spoke, a faint note of anger entered his voice, and he began speaking more clearly. "That... that _Raven..._ she did... _things _to her mind... she's not alright, and it's her fault..."

"In addition," KOS-MOS chipped in, looking more animated than anyone had yet seen her, "she placed the life of my creator, Shion, in great peril, and caused her great distress through her actions aboard the Starship Tasha. Such crimes shall not be easily forgiven."

"And I'm not saying we should!" Ness objected. "I'm just saying-"

"Saying _what, _exactly?" Akane hissed. "Why can I _just _picture you being one of those idiots you see all the time in anime- they have the villain beaten down, but instead of just finishing them off, you try to give them a chance to redeem themself- and then they just run away and do even _more _damage!"

Ness opened and closed his mouth, before turning to the rest of the group, seemingly for support. "Come on- Harry, Link, Fireheart, _somebody!"_

Harry shook his head. "That woman killed three of my classmates," he said, his voice steady, but a note of pure fury lurking just below the surface. "She- she's the worst kind of... _creature _I've ever met. I've met evil people- killing people _is _evil, but when she's doing it in the name of... of trying to twist people around, break them, until they're no better than she is... no, I can't forgive her."

A dark cloud seemed to hover over the table at this ominous pronouncement. Finally, Ness spoke, nervously clearing his throat as he did so.

"Anyways... like I was saying, I'm not saying we _shouldn't _stop her- I mean, she even invited us right to her lair- who are we to turn her down? I'm just thinking we should... you know... take five first. Spend the night here, catch some Z's, bit of R&amp;R. I just think that would be the better course- clear our heads, have a better idea of what we should do."

"Oh, really?" Akane asked. "Well, you can have fun with that. As for me, _I'm _going right there, I'll take her on _myself. _Anyone who wants to come with me, feel free, anyone staying behind, _too bad._"

With this, she slammed her hands on the table and rose from it. Ness opened and closed his mouth helplessly as Harry, Shinji, and KOS-MOS all followed suit, though in somewhat more calm manners, standing up and starting towards the door.

Abruptly, a member of the group that had yet to voice their opinion spoke up. "Hold up, you four." Just at the door's threshold, they turned to see Link raising a single hand, eyes closed. "Ness is right. To set out for our enemy's fortress, tired, angry, without any thought or plan... that's the worst thing we can do right now."

"I agree," Fireheart put in, standing up on the table and throwing a piercing gaze at those at the door. "One of the most important things warriors learn as apprentices is strategy. Attacking a rival clan, on their territory, while tired, _at that clan's bidding..._ it would be more than a little mouse-brained."

"'At that clan's bidding?'" Shinji asked, question marks appearing in his eyes.

Fireheart blinked. "Whoever that... _Raven _twoleg is, she brought us here, to her territory. She issued the challenge- at the moment, she has all the advantage. I agree that a fight will likely be inevitable, but an assault like the one you're describing... even the most insane leader wouldn't try something like this."

"Alright, you listen here," Akane growled, pointing at him. "We all have friends who are hurt and possibly _dying _back home- are you saying we should just forget them?!"

A cold front passed over the room. Link was the next to speak, and when he did, the chill in his voice was matched only by the chill in his eyes, which had suddenly become like chips of ice. "Nobody here has said anything of the kind. I understand your desire to bring Raven to justice, and I will stand with you, when the time is right... but do _not _suggest I don't understand the pain of losing those dear to me."

Fireheart nodded. "We warriors are trained to stand together through thick and thin, from the most bountiful greenleaf to the harshest leafbare. Believe me, I will do everything I can to return to them- but this is not the way to do it."

A long silence ensued, with even Ness on tenterhooks, looking from face to face. Finally, KOS-MOS spoke. "You are... correct." Slowly, she stepped away from the others and took her seat once more.

"KOS-MOS!" Akane objected.

"They are correct," the robot repeated. "For a brief moment, I allowed my emotion to cloud my judgement- the course of action we were pursuing would more likely lead to death than to our desired return. And if I am killed, it would be of no good to Shion."

A moment later, Shinji stepped away from the door as well, muttering a quick, "Sorry," to Akane as his only explanation. He returned to the table and bent over, staring at his shoes.

This left Akane and Harry as the only ones standing at the door. For a moment, they looked at each other. Harry shrugged. "My friends- Ron and Hermione- they always _did _say I have kind of a... 'saving-people-thing,' as they said. I don't want to let them down, of course- and that's why..."

Without another word, he, too, resumed his seat.

This left Akane alone at the door, glaring daggers at them. "Oh, so that's how it's gonna be, huh?" she grimaced. "Well... alright then." And, looking like it was causing her physical pain, she crossed the room once more and sat down. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

Another long silence, as everyone glanced around, a look of relief crossing Ness's face. Finally, Akane spoke. "Well, I hope you're all happy- here we are, a bunch of morons, sitting around a table."

"Right- let's get to planning," Link spoke up, changing the conversation again. "To begin with... what are our assets?"

"Well, you're a swordsman, I know some martial arts, he knows magic, he has psychic powers, and in a pinch, Fireheart here can catch us some mice," Akane noted scathingly, earning her a hiss from said feline.

"But then again!" Ness interjected, glancing around quickly. "Any of you play video games?"

"Video games?" Link and Fireheart asked.

"No," Akane said bluntly. "Why would we-"

"Indeed," KOS-MOS interrupted, seeming particularly animated.

"Oh, you do?" Ness grinned. "Sweet. You ever play Team Fortress 2?"

"I have not encountered this particular title," KOS-MOS shook her head.

"Too bad- you'll have to try it out sometime. I mean, assuming they still have it all that time in the future... anyways, I think that Fireheart could be our scout!"

"Scout?" Harry repeated.

"Yeah, you know, he _scouts _ahead and reports back! I mean, he's lighter and more stealthy than any of us are! I mean, back home, I was the scout of our team- I even had my baseball bat to prove it- but for this situation, I gladly yield the position!"

"Well, thanks," Fireheart noted, looking as though he didn't know exactly what else to say.

"That still leaves two of us," Link continued. "KOS-MOS, Shinji, anything you bring to the table?"

"I have been equipped with rudimentary weapons systems, and the knowledge to utilize them," KOS-MOS answered. "In addition, I have been given access to a database of all the knowledge aboard the S. S. Tasha."

"Sounds good," Harry nodded. "And... you, Shinji?"

Silence. "...Shinji?" Ness asked, turning to look at said boy.

Shinji was retaining his position of head down, hands clenched together, eyes closed.

"Shinji?" Link prompted.

Ness blinked, and, quietly, allowed a bit of Shinji's mind to cross over with his. Nothing too heavy, nothing as concrete as actual thoughts or memories, just a few fragments of emotion. What he felt... disturbed him. The despair, anger, and fear he was sensing from that boy- a year or two younger than he himself was- was more than he'd felt on his journey from people much, much older than him.

Shaking his head, he quickly put on his customary smile and said, "I'm sure Shinji's got a lot of awesome stuff up his sleeve! Just give him time, and I'm sure he'll _wow _us!"

"Right..." Link said, looking uncertain. Shinji, meanwhile, far from seeming relieved, winced at Ness's encouraging words, and became even more fixated on his shoelaces.

Harry stood and crossed the room, gazing out of the window. "It still looks exactly the same out there," he noted, looking up at the sky. "It doesn't seem any earlier or later..."

Slowly, the others stood as well and joined him in his vigil. "I can't even see the sun..." Shinji agreed forlornly.

Even Ness seemed more somber than usual as he gazed at the city's skeletal, desolate remains. "Guys... if this is... _Raven's _home... what happened to it?"

Silence set in once more as this question weighed down on them. They were all starting to get a grasp of what, exactly, Raven was like, of the open contempt she'd treated each of their homes with... what would the place she'd come from herself have been forced to suffer?

Finally, Ness spoke again. "Maybe we should get some rest for the night."

"How can you tell if it is night?" KOS-MOS asked.

"I can't," Ness acknowledged, "but I've been up for a whole day at this point, it was about night-time when I got shazamed here..."

A quick poll revealed that the others all had similar stories, leading the group to begin making sleeping arrangements.

"KOS-MOS and I will take one room, and the rest of you can take another," Akane said immediately.

"Are you certain?" Link asked, scrutinizing her through his blue eyes. "Under the circumstances, it may be best for everyone to share a room."

"Hey, you think being in a place like this excuses you from being a pervert?" Akane glared at him. "No, boys and girls separate, just like usual. Any objections?"

Harry shrugged. "Sounds fair to me."

"You okay with that, KOS-MOS?" Ness asked, glancing at the android.

"As long as this course of action does not place Shion in immediate danger, I will raise no arguments," KOS-MOS affirmed.

"You really like that Shion woman, don't you?" Ness noted.

"Her safety is my number 1 priority," KOS-MOS agreed.

"Come on," Akane muttered, grabbing the robot's wrist and guiding her out, leaving the boys to stare after them.

"Are you okay... Shinji?" Fireheart asked, noticing that said Japanese boy seemed transfixed by the two girls who had just left.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just... they really remind me of a couple people... back home," Shinji stuttered out.

XXXX

The hotel seemed to have been one of the ritzier buildings in the city at one point, before whatever cataclysm that had struck it... had struck it. In the interim, it had fallen into disrepair, but there were, nonetheless, a few rooms left intact, and it didn't take Akane overly long to find one to lodge in with the robot for the night.

As they were beginning to settle in, Akane was distracted by something brushing past her legs. "What was that?!" she asked, jumping up and lashing out with her foot.

"Hey, take it easy!" came an indignant voice from ground level. Looking, she found Fireheart, who seemed to have leapt out of the way of her kick, with his back arched. "It's just me!"

"What are you doing here?" Akane asked.

"Ness thought it would balance things out if I slept with you two," the cat explained. "This way, there are three of us in this room, and four in the other. Unless you don't want it that way?"

"No... no, it's fine," Akane decided, leaning back in her bed as KOS-MOS watched with a quiet interest. "If it were one of the others- especially Ness- they'd be going out the window by now, but... well, since you're a cat, I guess it's okay."

"I don't know whether to be offended by that," Fireheart noted, leaping up into a chair nearby, where he began circling. "But, I suppose you're showing me some trust, so I'll take it as a compliment."

"Go ahead," Akane muttered, gazing at him. "This... is bizarre."

"Believe me, it's out of my experience, too," Fireheart agreed. "I don't generally like mingling with twolegs..."

Turning to face Akane, Fireheart asked, "So, out of curiosity, do you always respond to your problems with violence like this?"

"Huh?" Akane asked, somewhat taken aback at being addressed thusly- much less by a cat.

"Well, I've begun to notice that in you- threatening to throw your companions out of the window if they came into the room, and such."

"Well, don't boy and girl cats stay in different... rooms?" Akane asked, not sure exactly what terminology the cat might be familiar with.

"Toms and she-cats?" Fireheart asked. "No, all warriors sleep together, the same for apprentices and elders. Should they not?"

"Well, it's not that common... for twolegs," Akane explained, feeling very odd at referring to herself as such.

"I see," Fireheart mused. "Anyways... it's not just that. It was your reaction to finding out about this... Raven. I mean, I know that she has done terrible things, but the anger I saw in you... it's not natural for a twoleg who seems to be apprentice-age. So eager to rush into battle..."

"You say you're a warrior," Akane countered. "Then shouldn't you be used to fighting?"

"Well, naturally, we're trained to fight," Fireheart agreed. "The clans are known for their skill on the battlefield. We fight rogues, other creatures that invade our territory, we fight each other... and there are plenty of warriors who doubtlessly consider a day wasted if there hasn't been a good fight involved. But... I'm not one of them. I'll gladly stand up and fight for my clan... but the truth is, if there's a peaceful solution, I'd like to try and find that first."

"Really?" Akane asked, raising an eyebrow.

"One of my mentors said that the greatest battle is one where everyone's claws remain sheathed throughout," Fireheart nodded. "Again, if it comes to bloodshed, I'd be proud to stand up for my clan... but if the dispute can be solved through talking, all the better."

Akane leaned back, the words ringing in her mind. Now that she thought about it, it seemed like there were many problems in the past that could have been averted, had she simply talked things over with Ranma, rather than reaching for that mallet...

"And what is the history of these 'clans?'" came another voice, drawing both Akane and Fireheart's attention to KOS-MOS.

"Our... history?" Fireheart asked.

"My database details much of twoleg history," KOS-MOS agreed. "However, my knowledge of feline history is unfortunately lacking. My database, as is, contains no details of any feline clans living in the forests of Lost Jerusalem. I wish to take this opportunity to... expand my knowledge."

"Well..." Fireheart muttered, glancing around the room. "I don't know if I'm the one best suited to telling stories from my clan's history..."

"Oh, come on," Akane put in, a small smirk crossing her face. "You don't have to be shy about it- I'm sure you'd be a great story-teller."

"I'm no elder yet," Fireheart objected. "But... if you insist."

Akane and KOS-MOS watched as Fireheart stood and circled into what any cat owner will recognize as the 'classic cat position': he sat down on his hind legs, with his front legs straight as columns, his tail wrapped around him. And he began to speak- "Once, long ago, the forests were wild, untamed by code or law. Cats lived in eternal fear, and battles were constantly being waged over the best hunting grounds, sleeping spots- anything that could be fought over constantly was. Then, one night..."

XXXX

Elsewhere in the hotel, Harry, Link, Ness, and Shinji had managed to find another room of decent quality, and were just setting up some sleeping arrangements. With two beds available to them, Link volunteered to sleep on the floor and Ness in a nearby reclining chair. Harry and Shinji had offered different sleeping arrangements, but both Hyrule's defender and the psychic psycho had insisted.

It took Harry a while to fall asleep, and when he did, it didn't take long for him to awaken again. When he awoke, he sat up and rubbed his eyes irritably. On top of everything else that was going on, even in this strange world he'd suddenly been plunged into, his nightmares still wouldn't leave him alone. That long, black corridor, ending in a locked door...

Looking around, he saw Ness snoring loudly in the chair, and Shinji laying motionless in his bed. He briefly wondered how he'd slept through the noise Ness was making, but then recalled that Ron wasn't exactly a silent sleeper either. The thought brought a small smile to his face, but it faded quickly- Ron. Hermione. Hogwarts. Would he even be able to see them again?

He shook his head as he glanced out of the window. Red sky. Dark clouds. He looked up in the room itself. Unfamiliar ceiling. Looking down, he noticed that the man in green, Link, seemed to have disappeared. Curious, and feeling as though he had no chance of getting back to sleep despite the weariness he was most certainly feeling, he rose to his feet and entered the hallway outside his room.

Eventually, he located the swordsman on the building's roof, gazing off into the distance. "Can't sleep?" he asked, announcing his presence.

Link shook his head as he glanced behind him. "The truth is... I sleep pretty light at the best of times. And this... isn't."

Harry followed Link's gaze, out over the city's skyline. "So... this is all pretty new to you?"

Link gave a small chuckle. "Are you telling me you're used to situations like this?"

"No, not the situation!" Harry backpedaled. "The city. Apparently, you're from the distant past..."

"Indeed. I haven't seen anything like this in my time."

"Exactly how far back do you think you are?"

"Well... at the very least, wizards and witches have yet to go into hiding," Link mused.

"That's... pretty far," Harry acknowledged. "I don't know exactly _how _far- now I wish I paid attention in History of Magic."

Link gave a chuckle, earning him a stare from Harry. "Something funny?"

"The whole situation, in a way. Your history is my future. The world is so much stranger than I knew before..."

"And it sounds like it was pretty strange to begin with," Harry commented.

"You understand, then?"

"Of course," Harry nodded. "I knew that there were strange things in the world before, but I didn't know about... about springs in China that transform whoever falls into them, or... or psychics that fight aliens, or cats living in clans... and the idea that robots could exist, let alone as advanced as that... this is a whole new world for me."

"And at the center of it all... Raven," Link muttered.

Harry blinked, detecting a note of bitterness in the swordsman's voice. "I'm guessing you have a personal history with her?"

"Because of her interference, someone very dear to me is dead," Link muttered darkly.

"Sorry to hear it," Harry responded, eyes downcast. "Who were they?"

"Her name was Impa. She was... she was something like a mother to me," Link explained. "I never knew my true mother- she died in a war when I was very young. Her last act was to deliver me to sanctuary. As for my father, I have no idea what happened to him."

Harry blinked. Even as he considered a response, he couldn't help but notice the familiarity he had with that backstory.

Link, however, continued. "I was first called to save Hyrule at a young age, and it was on that journey that I met Impa, and Princess Zelda. When all was said and done, they were grateful enough to take me in- they were like the family I'd never had. Zelda is... like a sister to me, and... well, like I said, Impa was like our mother."

"And she's dead now?"

"Yes. To draw me in, Raven revived one of my old enemies... and he killed her." Link's eyes, once again, were growing cold as ice.

Harry shook his head. "I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, I sort of know how it feels- both of my parents were killed trying to protect me from a dark wizard."

"Really?" Link asked, turning his gaze away from the city and towards Harry.

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "Apparently, he was actually after me, but they stood between him and me, so..."

"When was this?"

"I was only a baby at the time," Harry acknowledged. "Since then, I've been living with my aunt and uncle."

"And what are they like?"

"Horrible," Harry had no hesitation in saying. "I always look forward to getting out of that house, getting to go back to Hogwarts..."

"And there is no one else to take you in?"

"Well... there is one person... my godfather, Sirius Black. But that's... kind of a problem."

"How so?"

"Well, it's a long story, but to make it short, a lot of people think he's the one to told that dark wizard where my parents were... then killed thirteen people."

"And did he?"

"No- it was a set-up," Harry explained with no small trace of bitterness in his voice. "Not that anyone believes it. He's still a fugitive."

"I'm sorry to hear it," Link sympathized.

Harry gave a brief nod and continued his narrative. "A year ago, the same dark wizard who killed my parents came back. So, Sirius is part of an organization trying to find him and stop him before he can do anymore damage. And... honestly, I'm hoping that when everything dies down, I _will _be able to go live with him."

"He sounds like a great man," Link smiled. "Unfortunately, I'm not KOS-MOS- I'm not from the future, so I can't tell you how that will work out. But I hope that things work out for you- you're a good person too, Harry."

"Thanks- you're not half bad yourself," Harry smiled back.

XXXX

Ness watched carefully through a half-opened eye as Harry rose from his bed and followed Link out the door. As with said swordsman, he allowed a fragment of Harry's thoughts to enter his own head. _Nah, just looking for Link..._

Assured of this, Ness returned to feigning sleep. Harry and Link could go off and have their heart-to-heart- the closer the team was, the better chance they stood against Raven, he figured. Besides, it wasn't either of them he was worried about...

His worries proved to not be especially unfounded a few minutes later, as Shinji steadily rose from his bed and began looking around, prompting Ness to continue his false slumber, once again opening his mind. Just as he'd suspected, it didn't seem like Shinji planned on coming back.

As the door shut, Ness rose up from the chair and began following.

At first, he followed distantly behind Shinji, allowing the boy to forge his own path, curious about what direction he was heading in. However, it didn't seem like the boy from Japan was following any real path- just wandering around the city.

Finally, down one street, Shinji looked up at the sky, gave a sigh, and turned to see the street empty behind him. Undeterred, he called out, "Come on out, Ness, I know you're there."

Ness fell, anime-style, out from behind the wall he'd just been hiding behind. "How did you know?!" he asked.

"Sorry to say it," Shinji muttered, "but you're really not as stealthy as you think you are." As was common when he was directly addressing someone, he kept his gaze fixed on his shoes. "For example, if I were tailing somebody, I wouldn't hum the 'Mission Impossible' theme song the whole time."

"Ow..." Ness mumbled, rubbing his chest as though Shinji's words were a bullet that had just pierced it. Straightening up, he put on a grin, pointed dramatically, and called out, "Ha! But you've fallen for my trap, Shinji! I actually _wanted _you to realize that I was following you, because that way... um... because..."

"You didn't?"

"Just give me a second, alright?" Ness shook him off, waving his hands.

Shinji sighed again. "Ness... why _did _you follow me?"

"Because I wanted to see where you were going, obviously," Ness shrugged.

"And you knew that I'd be leaving? I thought you promised Akane you wouldn't read our minds anymore!"

"I didn't _need _to read your mind," Ness shook his head. "You just had... that _look _around you."

"What look?"

"Like you'd already given up."

Shinji looked up for a moment, staring at Ness, then returned his gaze to the concrete. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I have given up."

"Why, though?" Ness asked. "I mean, don't you trust us?"

"Of course I do!" Shinji nodded. "I mean, I don't really have much choice, do I? The only other person to trust is Raven, and..."

"And," Ness agreed. "But still-"

"I don't want to get in the way, alright!" Shinji broke. "You asked me earlier, what could I contribute? And the fact is- I can't! Everyone else in this group has something they can do for it, except for me! A martial artist, a swordsman, a psychic, a wizard, a _robot, _and even the cat can act as a scout, but me? All I can do is pilot my Evangelion, and that's back home in Japan! There is literally nothing I can do for this group, I'd just slow you down, so I'm just getting out of your way!"

Ness froze, seeming taken aback for a moment, but then, slowly, he began to smile. "Well, you're just a little ray of sunshine, aren't you?"

Shinji, unaccustomed to such a response, was taken aback. "Huh?"

"You're really quick to count yourself out, you know that?" Ness pointed out. "In fact, you sound kind of like Jeff when I first met him!"

"Jeff?" Shinji asked, staring at him.

"My best friend," Ness explained. "He came all the way from Winters to help me and Paula when we were in a tight situation. When he realized that he was the only one in our group who didn't have any psychic powers, he was pretty down on himself, too. He thought he wasn't worth the time it took to get over to us, thought there was no way he could help us stop Giygas. And you know what?"

"I can guess," Shinji muttered.

"You bet you can!" Ness nodded happily. "He was one of the most valuable members of the team! No powers or anything, and he pulled our butts out of the fire more times than I can count!"

"So... he could fight?"

"I suppose," Ness agreed, "but more than that- he was the smart guy of the group! He put together strategies, figured out the best way to get to where we needed to go- we would never have gotten anywhere without him!"

"Well, that's no use to me, then," Shinji contended, his eyes downcast. "I'm not your smart guy, either."

"Of course not!" Ness agreed. "You're not Jeff! I'm sure KOS-MOS could me the smart person in the group, but you're not her, either! But you know who you _are?"_

"Shinji Ikari," Shinji muttered hopelessly.

"Dang straight!" Ness said cheerfully. "And you know what? I think Shinji Ikari has the potential to be pretty dang awesome!"

"You're just saying that to try and make me feel better."

"No, I know for a fact," Ness objected. "You wouldn't even be here otherwise!"

"How do you mean?" Shinji asked, eyes widening.

"Well, think about it! Everyone who's here is here because they did something that annoyed Raven- or was about to. In their own time, their own world, they stood for something, they were a symbol of hope to the world- or something. If you were just some schmuck who happened to pilot an Evangelion- which, I'll go ahead and point out, is pretty awesome in itself- you wouldn't have come up on her radar! You have to have done _something _to catch her attention!"

"But... but I'm just... just..."

"Just Shinji Ikari?" Ness guessed ahead of time. "Maybe so- but guess what? Because you're Shinji Ikari, you get to decide what kind of person Shinji Ikari is going to be! You get to decide if people are going to be saying-" here, Ness put on a sneer and adopted an incredibly derisive tone, "-'Oh, here comes Shinji Ikari. What an idiot, he wears his underwear backwards,' or if they're going to say-" here, he adopted a wild grin and excited voice- "'Oh, awesome, here comes Shinji freaking Ikari, he's the _man!_"

"But what can I _do?_"

"I don't know," Ness shrugged. "I'm Ness Locke, so I'm only an expert in what Ness Locke can do. I can't tell Shinji what Shinji can do- but I will say this- maybe you aren't physically strong, like Link, or skilled in martial arts, like Akane, or even all that smart, like KOS-MOS or Jeff- but I'm sure you've got something up your sleeve. When you find out what it is, you'll have to let me know so I can finish that metaphor. Promise me, alright?"

For a moment, Shinji remained silent, gazing at the sidewalk.

"Come on, please?" Ness begged. "I don't like leaving metaphors unfinished- and if you run out on us, I'll never be able to finish that one!"

Finally, Shinji gave a small smile. "Alright. If it'll make you that happy, I'll... try to find out what I'm useful for."

"Awesome!" Ness grinned. "So, how about we get back to the hotel and get some shut-eye?"

Shinji slowly approached. "Sounds good to me." And the two of them turned and set off back to the hotel.

"You know, Shinji," Ness commented as they set off, "there was a very wise man once who said something very profound- 'I am what I am.'"

"Oh, really? Who was that?" Shinji asked.

"I think his name was Pop-Eye or something," Ness shrugged.

For a moment, he seemed like he was about to say something, but then he got distracted by a nearby garbage can. "Oh, hey, look!" he cheered as he rushed over to it and began to forage around in it.

"Are you alright?" Shinji asked as he approached, uncertain whether or not to laugh.

"Hey, it's not too strange!" Ness called as he reached deep into the receptacle's depths. "People throw all kinds of stuff away, you wouldn't believe-"

"Wouldn't believe?" Shinji prompted when Ness abruptly fell silent.

"I don't believe it!" Ness chuckled as he straightened up. "I really don't believe it!"

"Believe what?"

"All this time fumbling around in the dark, and we didn't even bother with the obvious solution!" Ness chortled, producing a newspaper. "How do people in movies always find out where and when they are?"

"You mean like in _Back to the Future?_" Shinji asked, approaching.

"Yup, just like that," Ness nodded. "So, let's see what we've got here... hey, Shinji, buddy, you ever heard of a place called Jump City?"

Shinji froze. "J-Jump City?" he asked, looking down at the paper.

"Yep, that's where this paper says we are. I was hoping that would answer a few questions, but nope, I'm just as confused as before. Never heard of a place like that. But I'm guessing you have?" he added, seeing the look on Shinji's face.

"Yeah... about fifty times a day," Shinji muttered. "Come on, we have to get back, now!"

"Look at you being all assertive all of a sudden!" Ness exclaimed, a proud expression crossing his face. "You're just grabbing life by the horns and shaking it until it moos!"

"Not the time!" Shinji said frantically. "We have to get back, _now!"_

"Well, okay, but why?" Ness asked, but Shinji simply responded with a quick, "No time to explain!" before rushing down the street, leaving the psychic boy to run after him into the twilight.

_XXXX_

Running kind of late with this chapter- got some family commitments going on. A few notes about the chapter itself- this chapter was originally going to be much longer, detailing Ness and Shinji going through Shinji's dungeon and getting his ultimate weapon, (those who have played the original game will understand,) but I ultimately decided that would break up the flow a little much for my tastes, so the chapter as is focuses more on developing the relationships between characters a bit, because don't you just hate it when crossovers are just, 'hey, we have a couple characters from different franchises that are onscreen together,' but they never really interact? Anyways, yeah, I'm planning on having them go through the bonus dungeons. Hard saying if that means a full seven chapters, or if some of the dungeons will share chapters, which might end up happening, if you guys don't think it would cheapen them too much. Anyways, it's getting pretty late, and it looks like my cat's caught another snake yet failed to kill it, so I'm going to go save that little guy. In the meantime, please R&amp;R, constructive criticism embraced, flames, not so much, Gamer4 out.


	5. The Labyrinth

Gamer4 in, and welcome, once more, to the fanfiction that promises to never keep you waiting more than 7-8 months for the next update! Huzzah! *sighs.* I know there's no way I can possibly say sorry enough, guys, but believe me, I'm pretty upset about this one, too. I remember back when I first set out on this mission- I was getting one segment of this story out every day, and then suddenly... I dropped the ball, and dropped it The truth is, while I had a general idea of what I was doing when I set out, I didn't have as fully thought-out a plan of action as I've had for some of my more... complete stories. At some point, I got lost within my own script, and couldn't figure out exactly how I wanted this story to proceed. I knew point A and B, but the middle was just this tangled mess of lines that I couldn't sort out. And then, it seemed like others were starting to lose interest, and I started to lose interest, and it was just... not good for anyone. However, recently, I got back into a _Live A Live_ craze, started playing the heck out of that game once more, and started filling in the blanks in the back of my mind of how this story was going to go. With a renewed interest, I now sit in front of my computer, ready to continue this story, and _this_ time, follow it through to completion. I know I've said that before, but this time for real- I know _exactly_ how the rest of this story is going to go, and no more farting around- by the end of this month, this story is finally going to be finished! No more stumbling around at the finish line, this time for real- two or three weeks from now, this story _will_ be complete! Now that I've pumped myself up a bit, let's plunge right in!

Disclaimer: Ain't nobody got time for these! Let's go!

Chapter V

The Labyrinth

Akane was asleep, resting with her hands over her chest, gently rising and falling with her breath. In the chair nearby, Fireheart had curled up into a ball, whose sides were rising and falling in sync with his roommate. KOS-MOS, as a robot, had simply powered down, limiting herself to basic functions for the night until she needed to awaken and return to full power. It seemed relatively peaceful, until the door burst open and Shinji appeared, calling out, "Wake up, guys! We need to meet up right now!"

Akane snapped up, sitting bolt upright in her bed. "What are you _doing_ here, you-"

"No time to explain here!" Shinji explained in a rush. "I need to go get Link and Harry..."

As he rushed off, Ness appeared behind him. "Sorry," he noted apologetically. "Picked up a newspaper to see if we could find out where we are, and he's been like that ever since- sprinted back up here, said we had to call a meeting right away... so, I guess we'll just meet up in the same room as last time, a'ight?" With that, he turned and dashed off again.

Looking severely agitated, Akane turned to see Fireheart stretching himself out. "I assume you heard, too, then?"

"Kind of hard to _not_ hear it," Fireheart pointed out. "Even as deep of a sleeper as I am- and believe me, you _need_ to be a deep sleeper to sleep next to Graystripe every night."

Akane turned to KOS-MOS, who was still slumped in her bed, eyes closed and unresponsive. "Come on, KOS-MOS, get up," Akane muttered, moving to her side and shaking her.

Immediately, the robot snapped to life. "Shion?" she asked as she sat up. Turning, she saw Akane instead. "Oh. Yes. I momentarily forgot. What is it?"

"Shinji's calling another meeting," Akane explained quickly. "Sounds pretty serious, we should get going right away."

With that, she led the three out of the room and down the hall.

XXXX

"Harry! Link!"

The aforementioned wizard and warrior turned as they heard their names being called, drawing their wand and sword respectively as they noted the urgency behind the shout. They momentarily lowered their defences when they realized who it was. "What is it, Shinji?" Harry asked.

"Meeting! In the same room as last night! Now!" Shinji repeated, before turning and dashing downstairs. Link had just barely enough time to note a large sheaf of paper in the boy's hand before he was out of sight once more.

"I wonder what's gotten into him?" Harry wondered.

"I don't know," came the gasping voice of Ness as he made his way up the stairs to the roof. "He's been panicked... ever since... we found that paper..."

"Paper?" Link repeated, confused, as Harry smacked himself in the face.

"Of course- why didn't_ I_ think of that?" he muttered. "There should be a paper around here that could tell us where we are!"

"We found one," Ness agreed. "We found the name of this city, then Shinji just... well, snapped. Come on, let's go see what he's found out."

He beckoned them forward and led them down the stairs into the main hotel.

XXXX

Eventually, they were all gathered around the same table as before- Ness collapsed into his seat, breathing heavily in an effort to return his heart rate to normal, Fireheart standing erect on the table, and the others in varying states of sleepiness or alertness. Shinji stood at the head of the table, pacing around agitatedly. "I should have realized it before- this city looks _exactly_ like cities still uninhabited after Second Impact! The old buildings, the red sky... everything's the same!"

"So, what are you saying?" Akane asked. "That whatever time we're in, it's after the Impact?"

"It's not just the time," Shinji waved her comment aside. "It's the city! This is Jump City!"

He paused, gazing around at everyone's faces. However, none of them showed any recognition. "And...?" Akane prompted.

"Sorry," Shinji shook his head. "I forgot that... we're from different time periods... Jump City was the first city to be affected by Second Impact!"

"What?" Harry gasped. "You mean, this city we're in right now... that's where the meteor crashed down?"

"No..." Shinji shook his head again, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "Not... as such..."

Ness cleared his throat and spoke up. "On the subject of things I picked up before you guys told me to stop reading minds..." he looked uncharacteristically serious as Shinji turned his attention towards him, more uncomfortable than before, "Why not tell us the truth this time, Shin?"

"You were lying to us before?" Link asked, sounding more confused than angry.

"Y... yes..." Shinji admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "The thing is... the _true_ cause of Second Impact is a top secret, even in NERV... I wasn't comfortable..."

A long silence hung over the table. Finally, Harry broke it. "I understand," he nodded. "At first, I wasn't going to tell any of you about... well, about magic... I only did after I was sure there was no other way. So... Shinji... what _really_ caused Second Impact?"

"Humans," Shinji admitted. "We discovered this... this creature living under the ice in Antarctica. The first angel- Adam. We were running experiments on him when suddenly he... he woke up. Nobody expected it, nobody could have seen it coming, but when he woke up, it caused this great outburst of power, and... and that's what caused Second Impact. The meteor story is just what they feed us in school."

Everyone stared at him for a moment, then Akane raised her hands. "Okay, okay, hold up- back up!" she shook her head. "Something about that doesn't make sense- if this city was the first to get hit by Second Impact, and Second Impact started in Antarctica... don't you think this place would be a little... colder?"

"Huh?" Shinji asked, clearly confused.

"I think I see what you're saying," Harry nodded. "I've never heard of this city before, but do you know where it is, Shinji?"

"Um... somewhere close to New York City, I think..."

"That's pretty far from Antarctica," Ness nodded. "I mean, I'm not a geography whiz, by any means, but I don't think those two places are even on the same side of the planet. You'd think that there would be one or two cities that got hit first, wouldn't you?"

Shinji opened and closed his mouth, looking like a fish out of water.

"Furthermore," came a curt voice, drawing everyone's attention to KOS-MOS, "according to my historical database, Jump City experienced a cataclysm several years _p__rior_ to Second Impact. Whatever happened here, I do not believe it is related."

"But... but..."

"Where did you hear about Jump City being the first place to be affected by this... Second Impact?" Fireheart asked, tilting his head.

"From... from school... it's part of that speech the teacher's always spouting 24/7..."

"And the information provided by this teacher is always fully reliable?" KOS-MOS asked, clearly scrutinizing him closely.

"N...no..."

"Of course not," Harry shook his head. "You just told us that he's the one telling you about how Second Impact was caused by a meteor. Sounds about as reliable as Professor Binns, really."

"Though, that idea does raise some disturbing implications," KOS-MOS spoke up, drawing everyone's attention once more.

"What do you mean, KOS-MOS?" Link asked, gazing down the table at the android.

"According to the information provided by Shinji, the devastation within this city is identical to the devastation caused by Second Impact," KOS-MOS recalled. "If we are to accept this as true, as Ness has suggested we should, but we also accept the truth that this city was unaffected by Second Impact- or, at the very least, its current state was not a result of Second Impact- then we are left with only one conclusion."

"I don't get it," Akane shook her head. "Isn't that a contradiction?"

"Not quite," KOS-MOS shook her head. "There is one way to resolve the contradiction- we know that this is the city from which Raven emerged to strike at our worlds. Last night, we speculated on what might have occurred in her hometown. If Second Impact did not cause this city's current state of decay, then the only thing that could have..."

"You mean... you mean _Raven_ did this? To her _own city?!_" Shinji gasped.

"Why not?" Link scowled at the table, his arms crossed. "You've seen the way she thinks of others- why should those she shares her home with be any different?"

"Yeah," Ness mused, "but I think the emphasis- for me, at least- is on the fact that she's even _capable_ of doing something like this. Just how powerful is this woman?"

A very uncomfortable silence ensued, everyone staring at the others. Finally, however, Link spoke up. "I've faced stronger."

"What?" Shinji gulped, turning his attention to the green-clad warrior.

"I've faced stronger," Link repeated. "When I was very young, Hyrule faced a threat capable of leveling an entire kingdom. Once the people of Hyrule united against it, however... it did not last long."

Another moment of silence, and Ness spoke up as well, grinning. "And compared to Giygas, I'm sure this Raven woman will be a pushover- at least she's got an actual, physical form!"

"And just what is this... 'Giygas?'" Fireheart asked.

"Ah, he was this big ol' monster threatening all life on earth," Ness shrugged. "When we let him out of his machine, he turned into this big mass of energy- or maybe he was turning into his own dimension- we really don't know for sure, it was a weird fight. All I'm saying is, compared to that, taking out Raven should be cake!"

"I'm certainly not going to stand here and just let her do what she wants," Akane growled, rising to her feet. "I don't care how powerful she is, she'll go down with a good punch to the face like anyone else!"

Harry smiled. "That's certainly the right spirit," he acknowledged. "And if all of you are going... I'm certainly not going to stay behind."

"The difference in power level between us and Raven is inconsequential," KOS-MOS agreed. "Even were it more than nine thousand, she placed Shion's life in danger. For that, she will pay."

"Indeed," Fireheart spoke up. "She has acted like a misbehaving apprentice, as though the warrior code is nothing more than her plaything. She must be brought to justice for her crimes."

Which only left Shinji. Everyone turned to him, and he turned red as he realized he was back in the limelight. "Um... well... if you guys are going to stop her... I won't stay behind."

"Now _that's_ what I'm talking about!" Ness cheered, thumping him on the back. "Well, I think we're all rested up, and we can think of a plan on the way- what say we get going to that tower already?"

A vote ran around the group, and, with a unanimous agreement, they finally left the hotel, and, using the large T-shaped tower as their guide, began making their way through the mazelike city.

XXXX

However, despite Ness's optimism, counterbalanced by Shinji's pessimism, Link and Fireheart's gift for strategy, Akane's strength, KOS-MOS's intelligence, and Harry's constantly-turning mind all working together, they were still unable to think of a plan by the time they'd arrived at the waterside, gazing up at the tower, erected on an island a mile or so off the mainland. "Well," Akane muttered, gazing across the water, so still it could be used as a mirror, "I thought we'd at least get farther than this. She invites us to the tower, and she doesn't even have the courtesy to set up a bridge or something?"

"Well... how's everyone with swimming?" Link suggested.

"I would rather not," KOS-MOS stated, remarkably matter-of-factly. Nobody questioned her further.

"I agree," Fireheart nodded. "I am not a warrior of Riverclan- the water is not my territory."

Ness seemingly wasn't paying attention- he was busy scratching at his head, looking around agitatedly. He felt as though there was an itch somewhere on him, an itch that he just couldn't scratch. As he twisted and turned, trying to determine the cause, he finally ceased, his eyes widening as they spied something off in the distance.

"I don't suppose you could summon a boat or something?" Shinji suggested, glancing at Harry.

"No, sorry," Harry shook his head. "Like I said, I'm just a wizard-in-training. If we had a more powerful wizard with us right now, they might be able to set you up, but not me. If we had a boat already, I could probably magic us across, but without that..."

Akane stared across the water, looking increasingly agitated as she failed to think of any alternate methods across. "Alright, what do you think, Ness?" she finally asked.

Nobody answered. Turning, Akane repeated, "Ness?"

Everyone else turned as well, only to all come to the same conclusion- the young boy had seemingly vanished. "For crying out loud, where did he go _now?!_" Akane grumbled. Looking around, she spied a figure in the distance- small, but clearly their missing teammate, disappearing around a corner. "Dangit, Ness, I thought I told you to stop running so far ahead!" she growled, dashing off after him.

"Wait!" Fireheart yowled after her. Shaking his head, he grumbled, "What part of 'stick together' don't you twolegs understand?" before dashing off after them, his four legs carrying him much more swiftly.

"Not this again," Harry muttered, dashing off after them, Link and KOS-MOS hot on his tail, and with Shinji, looking extremely off-put, bringing up a distant rear.

XXXX

Ness dug his heels into the ground to bring himself to a stop as he rounded a corner. Normally, he'd be out of breath right now, but adrenaline was pumping through him, giving him the strength to keep going. Casting his eyes around urgently, he eventually caught sight of the figure that had distracted him to begin with- a distant figure with long, blond hair. There was something... off about her- she seemed to be shimmering in the light, and there was something off about her psychic presence, but she was definitely there. "Wait!" he called out. "Who are you?"

Heedless, the figure turned and headed off in yet another direction, leading to the young man dashing after her once more, determined to catch up.

Finally, he rounded a corner to spy the strange figure making her way into a tunnel that seemed to lead into the ground- a yawning maw that he only had very basic second thoughts about plunging into before he'd already done it, sprinting as hard as he could in pursuit of the strange figure.

Abruptly, he was running downhill, and he had to adjust his balance to prevent himself from falling over. He struggled to keep up a good pace, but the deeper into the ground the tunnel went, the less light there was to go by, and the more necessity there was to slow down to make sure he wasn't about to slam into a wall. Thankfully, the figure was remaining in view, but she was also pulling further and further ahead, the shadows enveloping her more and more as she increased the gap between them.

At long last, the tunnel leveled out, and he was running across flat ground again. The tunnel had been straight so far, with no turns or alternate routes that he'd noticed, so at least finding his way back shouldn't be an issue. But what was an issue? He was alone.

He'd just realized it- it was beginning to dawn on him just what he'd been doing the past few minutes. He'd lost the figure, and even worse, he'd lost the rest of the group. He didn't know where they were, and he didn't know if they knew where he'd gone- as far as they knew, he'd simply vanished. Looking around, he found that he was in pitch darkness- he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. Gripping his baseball bat tightly in case of danger, he quietly spoke the words, "Psi flash."

A sphere of light emerged from his forehead and floated in front of him, filling the tunnel with a brilliant light. After allowing his eyes to adjust a bit, he realized that, sure enough, the tunnel seemed to be entirely straight. In addition, it seemed like a tunnel meant for cars to travel through, complete with the paved road that he'd been running along the whole time. However, he currently had eyes only for the figure lurking just on the fringes of the light- that same blond girl, looking back at him. Slowly, she raised a hand and beckoned to him, before turning and continuing on her way. Ness weighed his options- well, this all obviously meant something. He had the feeling that, if this were a trap, he'd be able to fight his way out- and either way, the tunnel was still straight- finding his way back would be as simple as following the tunnel in the opposite direction. Moving quickly but cautiously, he set out after the figure once more.

Finally, he managed to find her, lurking on the edge of the tunnel, standing there, watching him as he approached. "We've been waiting for you," she said quietly, in a raspy voice that implied she didn't use it often.

"Who's 'we?'" Ness asked, approaching with still more caution.

And abruptly, he was surrounded. Surrounded by five figures of varying size- the blond figure who'd led him here, a young boy in a black-and-blue uniform of some sort whose skin was _green,_ a large man whose body was comprised largely of mechanical parts, a tall woman in some kind of armor with orange skin and similarly-colored hair, and a young man with spiky black hair in an outfit of red, green, and yellow.

"Who are you?" Ness asked, dropping into a defensive stance with his bat. "Why did you lead me here? Why is there a human traffic light with you?"

The blond woman seemed off-put as she approached him- not enough to incite defensive action, but enough to make a difference. "Do you... do you recognize me?"

"Should I?" Ness asked, leaning forward for a better look. Looking her over as close as he could, he eventually found that she _did_ seem somewhat familiar. "Wait a second... you're that girl- the one the Blue Bloods shot! What was it... Tasha... Tania... Tanea!"

The blond girl gave a smile with very little genuine happiness behind it. "Good... you have seen me before... in another life."

"Another life?"

"I've had a lot of names over the years... you weren't entirely wrong when you called me Tasha... but my first name... from before all this began... back then, my name was Terra."

XXXX

"Mouse-brains," Fireheart muttered, wandering around in the dark. "All of them- mouse-brains all the way."

He'd pursued Akane and Ness throughout this strange twolegplace for several minutes before they'd located this Starclan-forsaken tunnel, at which both of said twolegs had dashed in without a second thought. Fireheart was in the middle of cursing them- as well as himself, for following them in. A steep downward slope later, and he was lost in a dark so thick that even his feline eyes didn't help much in penetrating it. Stretching out with all his senses, he struggled to hear or smell his temporary comrades, but no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't pick out their scents.

"Harry?" he yowled out, more or less from desperation. "Link? Ness? Shinji? Akane? KOS-MOS?"

His yowl echoed back, but didn't seem to do much to help him- if anything, it made it more difficult to pick up any other noises that might help him- he elected to not call out again unless he sensed one of his comrades first.

XXXX

"Alone... you're always alone, aren't you, Shinji?" came a mocking voice through the darkness.

"No... not you..." Shinji fell to the ground, curling up into a ball. "There's enough going on here without _you_ getting involved too!"

He was surrounded by darkness, cut off from all his friends, and, as if the day couldn't get any worse, that accursed voice in his head decided now was a good time to come back and start tormenting him.

"Friends, you call them?" the voice needled further. "For friends, they were certainly quick to abandon you, weren't they? Poor Shinji, always all alone... nobody wants to deal with a spineless coward like you..."

"I'm not a spineless coward!" Shinji objected, tears starting to gather in his eyes. "Ness said... Ness said if I was... if I was just another person... Raven wouldn't have paid me any attention! Nothing that happened with Karasu would have happened if I hadn't done something!"

"Oh," the voice sounded amused. "So Rei being blackmailed, Asuka being tortured... worthy sacrifices if you can verify your own worth in the eyes of the world?"

Shinji choked. "Of- of course not! You know that's not what I meant!"

"Wasn't it?" the voice laughed. "You can't hide your thoughts from _me_, Shinji... you're myself, and I'm yourself. I am the Shinji Ikari that exists in your mind..."

"Shut up!" Shinji objected, rising to his feet and sprinting off into the tunnel. "I have to find my friends!"

"Why bother?" the voice continued, absolutely scathing. "They're better off without you, right? Why don't we hear what they're saying about you right now?"

Phantom images seemed to float in front of him- Akane. "Like that worthless baka could have helped us get home anyways!"

"Indeed," Link nodded, his arms crossed. "He was only ever a hindrance, right from the beginning."

"I hate to leave a comrade behind, but he was just slowing us down too much to be worth it," Fireheart confirmed.

"From a purely logical standpoint, abandoning him in that shaft was the obvious choice," KOS-MOS voiced her agreement.

"It was a hard decision, but one we had to make," Harry nodded along with them.

"To tell the truth," Ness smiled nastily, "I was looking for a way to ditch him ever since we picked him up."

"No..." Shinji moaned, collapsing to his knees. "No... he wouldn't say that... he wouldn't say that..."

Abruptly, it occurred to him. "No... he really _wouldn't_ say that..."

"You seem awfully sure of yourself," the voice taunted.

"No, he _really wouldn't_ say that!" Shinji shouted, standing up again. "Last night, I tried to run out on them! I was going to come to the tower- I was going to let Raven just kill me! But he stopped me! He followed me, and begged me to stay with them! If he really wanted to get rid of me, he could have just let me go, couldn't he?"

"..." The voice, for once, was silent.

"He gave me that big speech about being who you are, and all that," Shinji recalled. "Tried to guilt me into staying, saying he wanted to finish that metaphor... if he wanted to get rid of me so badly, why did he bother? HUH?!"

More silence. "Ah, so you don't have an answer to that one, huh?" Shinji spoke up, feeling a surprising amount of defiance coursing through him. "Of course not. Now, I'm off to go and help the others- we need to find our way home!"

"Home?" the voice returned. "And where exactly is _your_ home, Shinji?"

"Oh, give it up already, you've lost this round!" Shinji shouted back. "They want me with them, end of story!"

"But perhaps, if they knew what you were returning home to, they would suggest leaving you here as the _kinder_ course of action..."

"What... what do you mean?" Shinji stammered out.

More phantom-figures appeared- Misato, Asuka, his father, Gendo...

"No... stop... not this again... not this...!"

XXXX

"So... where exactly are we?" Ness asked.

"This is Jump City," Terra explained. "Or rather... it _was_..."

"We don't know if it's even connected to the same realm as the rest of earth anymore," the figure who'd identified himself as Robin noted.

"Yes... this has become a cursed land, separated from the normal time and space of the universe," the orange girl, Starfire, explained.

"In this place, Raven's the controller of all reality," the large machine-man put in.

"And you're... Cyborg, right?" Ness pointed to him, trying to get all their names straight in his head.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"What do you mean by, she's the controller of reality?"

"As long as you're in this city, you play by her rules, is what he means," the green boy spoke up. "Any part of this city, she can change it, bend it to her own will... she was always powerful of course, but after... after _that_ day... the day she embraced her demon blood... she became so much more powerful..."

"She destroyed the city," Robin stepped in. "Destroyed it and separated it from the rest of the universe, made it her own personal playground. As long as she's here, she's almost a god."

"After she destroyed the city, she started projecting herself across space and time," Cyborg nodded. "We didn't know exactly why, but... now we do."

"To mess with us?" Ness asked, eyes wide.

"That is what it appears," Starfire nodded. "However, it is not us that have experienced the full extent of her wrath... that would be Beastboy and Terra."

"You two?" Ness asked, pointing at the green boy and the blond girl.

"Yes," Terra nodded. "Every time she took off to another time and place, she had the two of us reincarnate there, in some new form or another. And every time, we grew up together... just so he could watch me get killed again... and again... and again... before coming back here and having some time to rest before she whisked us off to the next time and place... the Tanea you watched die was just another one of my incarnations..."

"Why?" Ness asked, eyes wide. "Why would she hate you two so much more than anyone else?"

"The truth is..." Terra faltered, as though about to admit to something very painful. "The truth is... it's my fault she's like this."

XXXX

"Akane... Akane..."

Akane glanced around, trying to locate the source of that noise. The voice sounded familiar, but it couldn't be... not here...

"Ranma?"

"Hey, Akane," the voice repeated, clearer than ever, drawing her attention to where she finally spied the boy, up on his feet in his usual Chinese clothing.

"Ranma," her eyes began to tear up. "You're okay!"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ranma smiled. "But you've been gone a while..."

"I'm sorry," Akane admitted. "You know it wasn't my fault- the floor turned black, and it sucked me up into it..."

"Akane..." Ranma shook his head slightly as he stepped through the darkness of the tunnel towards her. "That was years ago."

"What?" Akane gasped, staring at him. "That's impossible- it's only been a day or two!"

"Years," Ranma shook his head again. "I married Ukyo, Akane."

"Ukyo?" Akane growled, anger beginning to course through her- she could feel herself turning red. "You baka... you married... _her?!_ What about the dojo? Anything-Goes Martial Arts?"

"Well, it didn't quite work out like that," Ranma pointed out. "You disappeared, and then just never came back... what else was I supposed to do?"

Fury was washing over Akane like one tidal wave after another, but then words came floating to her, back from in that rundown hotel room... _If the dispute can be solved through talking..._

Akane took a deep breath, pushing the anger back down. It was drowned by a deep regret. "I... I'm sorry, Ranma," she forced out, almost feeling physical injury as she said it. "I'm sorry... we couldn't be together..."

Far from seeming relieved, Ranma seemed taken aback. "That's it?"

"What did you expect?"

"For you to get angry- call me a baka, hit me over the head with that mallet of yours..."

Akane winced. "Is that really... is that really all you think of me?"

"Well, if I were to think otherwise after all that experience, it'd make me kind of stupid, wouldn't ya say?"

Akane's head bent down. "I'm sorry... I haven't been fair to you... before... but if you're happy... with Ukyo..." She looked up, tears leaking out of her eyes. "Then I'm happy, too..."

Ranma still looked taken aback... then frowned. "Well, _that_ wasn't supposed to happen."

"What?" Akane asked, but then had little time to react before Ranma leapt forward and grabbed her arms, pinning them to her sides.

"You're not going soft on me, are you, Akane?" he hissed. "You'll never inherit the Tendo dojo like that..."

"Ranma..." Akane gasped, "you're hurting me!"

"And you think I give a damn?!" Ranma shouted. "After all that time of you beating up on me, I'm suddenly supposed to care about _you?!_"

Akane felt a jolt through her body. _No... that's not right... Ranma would never say something like that..._

"You're not him," Akane muttered, lowering herself down, going limp.

"What's that you say?" Ranma asked, grimacing as he bent forward.

"I said... _You're not RANMA!_" she shouted as she swung her head up and smashed the impostor in the nose, causing him to stagger back.

"ARRRGH! What the hell?!"

Akane spun to face him. "You may look like him, but you can't actually _be_ him! Ranma would never say those things to me! Even after everything I've done to him, he still would never do anything to hurt me, he'd always look out for me- and from now on, I'll do the same for him! And if you want to get in my way..." The anger was turning her red once more as she cracked her knuckles. "Well... I wouldn't recommend it."

The fake Ranma looked up with eyes filled anew with fear as she charged at him, yelling.

XXXX

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry shouted out for the fifth time, and for the fifth time, a stag erupted from his wand, briefly lighting this dark tunnel and charging down the dementor that had set in on him. "This makes no sense..." he muttered to himself. "I haven't sensed dementors anywhere else in the city. Why would they be here in the first place? Did we just stumble on a hive of them or something?"

He felt another chill and a lurking sense of abject despair coming up from behind him and sighed heavily as he turned around. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

XXXX

"The placement of these doors is highly illogical."

"You're telling me," Link muttered, following close behind the robot whose glowing chest was currently his only light source. "A tunnel of this sort doesn't seem like it should have doors in it at all..."

"We have located another," KOS-MOS noted as she brought their march to a halt, staring at another large stone wall stretching across the tunnel, broken only by a metal door.

"Oh, good," Link muttered. "Is this one yours or mine?" Over the past several minutes, they'd located many such doors, some with a nearby key hidden for Link to find, and some with a puzzle built into the lock for KOS-MOS to solve in exchange for passage.

"Mine, it appears," KOS-MOS noted, examining a lock that seemed tied to a sliding block puzzle. Smiling slightly, she added, "Well, as Professor Layton said, 'Critical thinking is the key to success.'"

"Professor Layton?" Link asked.

"Ahead of your time," KOS-MOS brushed off, turning her attention to the puzzle. "Now, if we slide this block here, and this one here..."

XXXX

Fireheart was growing increasingly agitated as his continued expedition into the tunnel failed to yield any results. "You'd think I'd have found one of them by now... if only by accident," he muttered to himself.

Hearing a growling noise nearby, he closed his eyes. _That's just Graystripe's stomach, that's just Graystripe's stomach, that's just Graystripe's stomach..._

He turned, and, fighting to remain calm, came face-to-face with a large fox, followed by two cubs and a badger. _It's not Graystripe's stomach, it's not Graystripe's stomach, it's not Graystripe's stomach, Holy_ Starclan, _it's not Graystripe's stomach!_

And with that, he turned and dashed off, tearing through the tunnel as fast as he could, no longer heeding his search for his comrades. Hot on his heels the whole time was the fox family and the badger.

Abruptly, the tunnel seemed to shift, turning into a maze of sorts- Fireheart swung around a corner and found himself pushed into a dead end. Spinning around, he arched his back and hissed, fluffing out his fur in an effort to make himself look larger as the creatures behind him closed in. Unfortunately, they didn't even seem to notice as they continued growling, closing in closer and closer... Fireheart closed his eyes, waiting for the blow to come...

But it never did. Opening his eyes, he found the badger and foxes attempting to swipe at him, but every time they tried, their mighty paws... simply passed right through. "I... I see..." he stuttered out, still shaken nonetheless. "They're... what did Ness call them earlier? Projections..."

Looking around, he began to doubt everything he was seeing. "And if I'm hallucinating them... what else am I hallucinating?"

Turning to the wall right next to him, he closed his eyes, guiding himself purely through sound and smell. Barred from sight, he took several steps forward, to the point he should be pressing against that wall. But he wasn't- he was continuing on as though it wasn't there. Opening his eyes once more, he saw that the maze had disappeared, along with the predators who had just been pursuing him. "Well... I see... not everything in this tunnel can be trusted..."

Abruptly, he picked up a scent he hadn't noticed before. "Shinji?" he gasped. Never before had he been so glad to catch a twoleg's scent. "Shinji!" he called out as he began sprinting in the direction of the smell.

XXXX

"And if we place this queen here... none of them are obstructing the paths of the others," KOS-MOS concluded, placing one final piece on the chessboard, and prompting the door in front of them to open.

"One more door," Link muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes furiously. "If I see one more door, I'm going to snap..."

"Link?" came a voice from the other side of the door, and they both snapped to attention to see a young, black-haired, bespectacled man approaching them, illuminated by a sphere of light at the tip of a wand.

"Harry!" Link smiled. "There aren't any more doors ahead, are there?"

"What do you mean, more doors?" Harry asked, looking confused.

"We just passed through twenty or more," Link recalled, looking back... to see an empty tunnel.

"It would seem we have been hoodwinked," KOS-MOS noted.

"I know the feeling," Harry nodded. "It seems like everything that's happened since I came down here has just been one trick after another. Come on, we need to find the others."

The three joined together and set off down the tunnel in the opposite direction Harry had just been travelling.

XXXX

"Daddy's gonna beat you, boy, oh, yes... Daddy's gonna beat you," came Gendo Ikari's voice as he approached his son, looking absolutely menacing.

"No- stay away! Stay away!" Shinji cried, going into a panic as he struggled to stay as far away from the image of his father as possible.

"I just want you to be stronger, my boy," Gendo smirked. "Strong, so you can be your own man, pilot Evangelion, and never run away..."

"Shinji!" came a call through the tunnel, and Shinji desperately turned around to see Fireheart sprinting out of the darkness.

"Fireheart!"

"Oh, my boy, you are pathetic," Gen do taunted, his smirk becoming wider and nastier than ever. "Turning to a cat for help? How low will you sink-"

"Shut it, elder, the warriors are talking," Fireheart snarled at him, before turning to Shinji. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not... I'm not _physically_ hurt..."

"This piece of foxdung has been tormenting you, then?"

"Y... yes..."

"In that case, I'll have to ask you to stop," Fireheart frowned, turning on Gendo. "We warriors usually don't take kindly to others picking on our apprentices- even that apprentice's family."

"A-apprentice?" Shinji gasped out.

"Funny," Gendo's smirk became a snarl. "For a moment, I thought I was being told off by a cat."

"You are," Fireheart agreed. "Why not do something about it?"

Gendo froze, gazing down in increasing anger.

"You can't, can you?" Fireheart taunted him right back. "You aren't even really here- just another projection. I can't smell you, you can't hurt us. Come on, Shinji, we're going to find the others."

Gendo's snarl became a grimace. "Boy, you stay right where you are!"

"I... I..." Shinji turned from one to the other.

"Boy, when I tell you to do something, you _do it!"_

"Wrong answer!" came a shout, and Gendo's form suddenly vanished as a leg passed through it. Behind him was the figure of...

"Akane!" both Shinji and Fireheart gasped.

"Sorry, buddy," Akane threw a disgusted look at where Gendo had been standing just a moment before, "but I don't take kindly to people picking on my friends. Not even myself... anymore."

"Akane!" Shinji cried, leaping forward and clinging to her like she was a life preserver in the middle of the ocean. For a moment, Akane looked furious, but then, to everyone's surprise, she wrapped her arms around Shinji and hugged him back.

"Sorry it took so long to find you guys again," Akane muttered. "When we find Ness, I'm gonna kill him."

"Hey! Over here!" came a shout from elsewhere in the tunnel, and they turned to see a pair of lights approaching- eventually revealed to be Harry and KOS-MOS, standing side-by-side with Link.

"And then there were six," Fireheart gave a pleased mew. "Over here!"

As they all re-united, Akane asked the obvious question. "So... has anyone seen the idiot who got us into this mess in the first place?"

"Ness?" Harry asked. "No, haven't seen him yet."

"I suppose we should go deeper into the tunnel, then," Akane muttered reluctantly. "He definitely came in here, and if nobody's passed him yet..."

"Everyone keep their senses ready," Fireheart noted. "This place is trying to trick us, to make us lose our way..."

Everyone agreed as they set off further into the tunnel.

Nothing further of note happened until the various lights of the group fell on a set of shimmering figures in the distance. "Is that Ness?" Link wondered, squinting in an effort to see better.

"Only one way to find out," Fireheart noted, tearing off towards said figures. Everyone else followed close behind, and arrived just in time to hear Terra saying, "The truth is... it's my fault she's like this."

"Ness Locke!" Akane raged as she came into view. "What did we say about _sticking together?!_"

"Sorry guys," Ness nodded sheepishly. "But look! I found some new friends!"

The others who were catching up gave starts as they saw the strange new five figures standing around Ness. "Who are you?" Link asked suspiciously, reaching for his sword.

"Relax, Link, they're on our side! I can tell!" Ness raised his hands, calling him off. "We've just been talking down here while we waited for you guys to catch up!"

"For _us-_" Akane started, only for to be silenced by Harry.

"So, who exactly are they?"

"A long time ago, we were the Teen Titans," Robin, the leader, explained. "I'm Robin, and this is Cyborg, Starfire, Beastboy, and Terra. And, back then... Raven was one of us."

"One of _you?!_ And you expect us to _trust_ you?" Akane asked scathingly.

"Please, Akane!" Ness interrupted. "Just... listen to their story."

Akane turned to the rest of the group, but they all seemed willing, so she begrudgingly motioned for them to continue.

Terra spoke up again. "Like I said... it's my fault she's like this. Back then, when we were the Titans... a group of superheroes... I started to get... angry at them. Everything about them just filled me with hatred... everything they said and did, no matter what it was... so I set up a plan to kill them all off and have whoever survived discredited."

"You _what?!_" was the general cry among the group.

"Truly disgraceful!" Fireheart hissed. "Only the lowest of warriors would ever conceive such a plot!"

"You betrayed your friends?!" Harry burst out, fury across his face. "You turned on them, and caused them to-"

"She knows!" Beastboy interjected, seeing that Terra wasn't about to- she was hanging her head almost to the floor. "She knows... and she's already paid for it, many times over!"

"You see, Raven was the only one of us to survive Terra's plan," Cyborg put in. "First, Robin got killed in a fight with some robots, then Star over here got killed by Raven after Terra drugged her... I died trying to bail Rae out of prison... Raven killed Terra after finding out what happened... and then Beastboy committed suicide- he thought Raven really did do all those things."

"That... that's terrible!" Shinji gasped.

"Yeah," Terra nodded. "And Raven wanted to make sure we knew it. After it all happened, everyone was convinced she was a demon. And it's kind of true- she's half demon, on her father's side, but that was the day she gave into that half of her. With everyone convinced she was this horrible, evil witch... she decided to become exactly that. She destroyed the city, and locked our souls away in it... this is a cursed city, removed from time and space, where Raven rules over everything."

"She keeps us all here so that she may remember why she did the things she did," Starfire noted sadly. "And she was once such a kind person..."

Very few of them could envision Raven, in any incarnation, being kind, but they allowed the Titans to continue their story. "As best we can tell, after that, she started projecting herself across time and space, taking out her anger on the rest of the world," Cyborg related, gazing sadly at his feet. "Basically, all of you were the punching bag she was using to work out her anger about what happened..."

"Why?" Link interjected furiously. "None of us had anything to do with it?"

"We don't know," Robin admitted. "All we could do was wait down here, and hope that something like this would happen..."

"We are already fallen," Starfire noted. "However, you are all still alive, and in this place, in this moment, you stand the best chance of stopping her."

"You want us to exterminate her?" KOS-MOS asked, staring.

"No, not kill... we don't want to see her dead..." Starfire shook her head.

"But she needs to be saved... saved from herself," Beastboy looked like he was in terrible pain as he spoke. "The old Raven, she would hate to see what she's become. She would... she would never, _never_ look at what she's doing now and say, 'yeah, that seems good.' Please... stop her."

Moving apart, the Titans pointed towards something on the ground. Eventually, KOS-MOS reached down and picked up a small ring made of gold, set with intricate designs. "What is this?" she asked, examining it closely.

"We used it a long time ago, in one of our older missions," Robin explained. "Use this, and you can cancel out the power that's letting Raven do all this. You can bring her back to normal."

"Using it, however, requires a great deal of focus... and emotion," Starfire related. "It is an object that grants the wearer a fraction of Raven's power- you must focus on stopping her, feel a great deal of emotion for power, and use her words... 'Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos...'"

"How did you figure all this out?" Harry asked, examining the ring closely. "I doubt even Hermione would be able to guess what this thing is."

"We've had nothing to do for years now _but_ study that thing and try to figure out how it works," Cyborg gave a weak smile. "We've been trying to figure out a way to stop her from the beginning. What you've got there is just the fruit of our labor."

A long silence passed, eventually broken by Starfire. "Stop her... please, stop her. But when you do it, do it not for revenge, but to save her from what she has become. Please, do this for us..."

Another long silence, and Link finally nodded. "Alright. We will stop her for you. We just hope we'll be able to return home afterwards."

"You should," Robin smiled gently. "Now, the thing about the ring is that she has to be using her full power before it will work properly. She probably won't open up the fight using full power- wait for her to start doing that before you use it. You'll know it when it happens... trust me."

"In theory, any one of you could use the ring," Cyborg noted. "Having magic of your own might help, but it's not necessary."

"Once it's done, come back down and let us know how it went, won't you?" Terra asked gently, a weak smile gracing her features. "It'll be good... to... know..." As she spoke, she, along with the others, began to fade back into the darkness, leaving the group from across time alone in a dark tunnel with a small ring.

"Well, I suppose we should get going," Link noted. "Harry... you use this, okay?"

"Me?" Harry asked, accepting the ring.

"You heard what the robotic one said- having magic of your own should help. You're the obvious choice here."

"Alright," Harry nodded, seeming uncomfortable with the responsibility nonetheless as he tucked the ring away in his pocket.

"I believe I am detecting light ahead," KOS-MOS chimed in. "Follow me."

With that, she set off on a brisk pace, not too fast, but fast enough. Harry and Link were hot on her heels, while the remaining four lingered back a bit.

XXXX

Several minutes later, the tunnel finally changed, becoming a garage of sorts, with a set of stairs nearby. Once more, KOS-MOS, Harry, and Link took the lead, climbing up as Ness, Shinji, Fireheart, and Akane held back a bit.

"So," Ness muttered, turning to Shinji, "Fireheart and Akane told me what happened to you back in the tunnel."

"They... they did?"

"Mmm-hmmm. Things are pretty messed up back home, huh?"

"That's a bit of an understatement."

Akane and Fireheart watched as Ness drew closer to Shinji. "Say, Shin-Shin... what would you say if I said I could... help you out a bit?"

"Huh?" Shinji asked, looking at him with eyes that didn't dare to be too hopeful. "How? We live in completely different times!"

"Yeah, well, here's the thing," Ness shook his head. "I've actually traveled through time before. Millions of years into the past, as a matter of fact- Jeff's dad is a brilliant scientist, he invented a machine called the Phase Distorter that lets people travel through time. It's still got some bugs to work out, like letting organic matter go through time safely, but if we can hammer those out..."

"We could all meet again?" Shinji asked, hope appearing in his eyes despite his own will.

"Yup!" Ness smiled. "How about it? As soon as that machine gets its flaws ironed over a bit, I'll make sure to do some time jumping, and we'll all come over to Tokyo-3 and personally give those SEELE jerks the telling-off they deserve?"

Shinji, looking exasperated, turned to Akane and Fireheart. "And you two... you're okay with this?"

"Anything to help my apprentice," Fireheart smiled warmly.

"Like I said in the tunnel, I don't take kindly to people picking on my friends," Akane smiled. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Shinji sniffed, and was surprised to find tears going down his face. "I... I don't know what's wrong with me... I'm happier than I've been in years..."

"It's alright, buddy," Ness smiled, patting Shinji on the back. "Let it all out..."

Suddenly, the scene was interrupted by a yell from above. "Get up here, you four, you _have to_ see this!"

The four leapt to their feet and tore up the stairs, through a large hallway, and out a door Harry was beckoning them through. The light outside was as dim as ever in that cold world, but they felt warmth in their heart nonetheless as they gazed up at the building they'd surfaced in.

"The giant T," Akane noted, her teeth grinding together. "Better get ready, Raven... we're coming for you."

_XXXX_

So, I hope this much longer-than-normal chapter somewhat makes up for that hiatus- though I know it can't make up for it entirely. That was terrible. The saddest thing about it, though, is that this is still only my second-longest hiatus. That... is frightening. Anyways, my head's out of my butt now, and I am determined to finish this story right. No more fumbling and farting around at the finish line- the next chapter- the _penultimate_ chapter- will be up next week, cross my heart, hope to die, stick a thousand needles in my eye. Otherwise, I'll play through the finale from Live A Live with just Masaru, at level 2 the whole time. Most of you probably don't get the gravity of what I just said, but believe me, that's not a tantalizing proposition. Anyways, see you guys next time, assuming you're still around! In the meantime, please R&amp;R, constructive criticism embraced with open arms, not so much with the flames, Gamer4 out!


	6. Queen of Demons

Gamer4 in. Ow... ow... ow... you guys have no idea how painful and difficult it is to stick all these needles in my eye... Yeah, just kidding, I'm writing this less than a week after the last chapter. I just put that in there in case something happens and this chapter isn't actually posted until after my self-imposed deadline- which it really shouldn't, I just want to cover my bases. Anyways, this should be the final main chapter of the Live Alive mini-series- there will be one more after this, but that'll just be an epilogue to wrap everything up, so... let's dive right in, shall we?

Disclaimer: It doesn't have lyrics, but I'm fond of _Wings that Don't Reach_, Oersted's theme from the original game...

Chapter VI

Queen of Demons

"It's about time," Fireheart growled.

"Indeed," Link agreed. "I've been aching to see our hostess's true face."

"Come on, guys," Ness spoke in a much gentler voice as they set off into the tower and searching for some stairs. "Remember what the Titans said- when we stop her, let's be doing it for her, not for revenge, a'ight?"

"Speak for yourself, Ness," Akane shot back sharply. "Like I said, I've got a friend in the hospital because of this witch- I'm not letting that go lightly."

There was an air of tension between them for a brief moment, but as they looked around at each others' faces, they took a collective deep breath.

"If there was ever a time to put our differences aside... it's now," Harry spoke what was on all their minds, taking the lead through the tower's halls.

"Quite," KOS-MOS agreed. "To turn our anger towards each other at this juncture would simply be playing into Raven's hands."

"Divide and conquer," Shinji noted quietly. "No need to do half her work for her."

As they continued their ascent, Akane turned to Ness again. "Any chance you can sense her?"

Ness closed his eyes, breathing deeply, and raised his hands to his forehead in the classic psychic stance. Lowering his eyelids halfway, Harry interjected. "Is that really necessary?"

"Nah, not really, but it's such a cool pose, isn't it?" Ness smiled.

"Perhaps now is not the best time to be joking," KOS-MOS frowned slightly.

"Well, haven't you ever heard that laughter is the best medicine?" Ness retorted. "Hmm... yeah, I can sense her. Not a projection- for real this time. She's way up there... pretty much at the top."

"I have located an elevator," KOS-MOS noted as she approached the doors to said device. "Perhaps we would be better served to utilize it to ascend to the top of this tower."

"Elevator?" Link asked, eyebrows raised. Fireheart seemed equally confused.

"Ahead of your time," Harry, Ness, and Akane explained in unison. Shinji kept his eyes fixed on his shoes.

However, when KOS-MOS returned, a slight look of dejection on her face, it was Shinji who first addressed her. "Problem, KOS-MOS?"

"The elevator is out of service," she explained. "We will have to utilize the stairs."

"Hmm..." Ness appeared to be deep in thought. Slowly, he made his way over to a light switch on the wall and toggled it a bit. "No change..."

"No power, huh?" Akane nodded. "Guess we really shouldn't have expected anything different, given what the rest of the city looks like."

"I don't know," Ness admitted. "I guess I just kinda figured she'd at least have reserved some power of some sort for herself..."

"I don't know what you're talking about, and frankly, I don't care," Fireheart noted. "Come on, we have to find Raven."

The climb was slow going- the tower was clearly constructed with the use of the elevator in mind. The stairs seemed more like an afterthought- a passing nod to the idea that there might be a fire or a severe power outage one day, without really taking either idea seriously. They were contained within a dark shaft, all the darker for the lack of power to the lights that were clearly supposed to illuminate it. There was no way of telling how high up they were- the only gauge they had for themselves was Ness occasionally reaching out with his powers to determine how far away Raven was. Twenty floors, ten floors... five floors...

"The stairway has reached its conclusion," KOS-MOS noted, gazing around the shaft with eyes that pierced the darkness. "We can ascend no further."

"Well, that makes no sense," Ness looked genuinely confused. "She's still a floor or two over us!"

Harry turned his green eyes towards a door nearby. "Why do I feel like we're still playing by her rules?" he wondered, searching for a knob.

"Because we are," Link noted darkly.

Finally, Harry found a handle on the door, which he grasped firmly and used to pull open the door. On the other side was yet another hallway.

Fireheart's eyes widened. "I can smell her," he mewed. "She's just ahead!"

Without another word, he took off into the hallway, leaving the others to chase after his brilliant orange fur. He swung around a corner and dashed to the very end, where another door impeded his progress. "She's on the other side," he meowed confidently. "I'm sure of it."

"Kind of hard to open the door in your situation, huh?" Akane noted.

"Shut up," Fireheart growled. "Graystripe would never believe this..."

"Somehow, I doubt he'd believe any of this," Link noted as he approached the door. "Much the same as the last one..." He grasped the handle and opened it up. On the other side was a set of stairs. "Hmmm... and where do these lead?"

"Oh, that's easy," Ness smirked, glancing over at Akane and Shinji as he spoke. "They go up."

Harry, Link, and Fireheart seemed confused, but Akane sighed and Shinji cracked a slight smile. "Never mind, guys, never mind. Ness is just being... Ness."

"In that case, let's find out for ourselves," Harry once more took the lead.

The air became even cooler as they climbed, and none of them failed to notice that this stairwell was illuminated much better than the previous one they'd climbed. Eventually, it ended in an open doorway, through which they could spy the dark, blood-red sky.

"The roof," Akane muttered. "Of course the roof- why anywhere else?"

The roof of the tower was large and rectangular, and held what appeared to have once been a volleyball court, in addition to a basketball hoop placed at either end- though the nets seemed to have long since rotted away. Where the volleyball net once stood, right in the center of the court, and the roof, was a figure crouching down on the ground. "Raven," Fireheart hissed, dashing forward again, the others hot on his tail.

Abruptly, however, a sheet of darkness appeared, blocking them off from their adversary- a wall of what appeared to be dark energy. "Stand down," came a rather throaty voice from the figure before them. "I don't want to fight- not yet."

Coming to the understanding that things wouldn't move forward any more until they did as they were bid, they stood down- Fireheart sheathed his claws, Link, his sword. Akane stepped out of the martial arts stance she'd adopted, KOS-MOS lowered her arms and stood still, Harry lowered his wand, and Ness brought his bat around and began using it more as a sort of cane.

Slowly, the wall of darkness dissipated, allowing them to finally see, for the first time, the true form of their foe.

The huddled mass in the center of the roof had her back turned to them, allowing them to see only a blue robe. However, slowly, she rose to her feet and turned towards them. She certainly had changed a great deal from what any of them had witnessed before- even from the projection. The projection had been a young, well-cared for woman of about fourteen, with neat, shoulder-length blue hair. The woman standing before them now was older, and much more haggard-looking. Her hair was incredibly disheveled, coming down to her back, and the leotard she'd once worn was torn up in several places. There was a slightly crazed look on her face that hadn't been there before, and her whole image gave off the impression of extreme neglect. The only thing the same was her robe- the one thing that appeared to have been taken care of.

"I've been waiting for you," Raven spoke in a croak that her namesake would have been proud of- clearly, she wasn't used to using her true voice. "I brought each of you here from your homes because I needed to ask you some... very important questions."

She hesitated for a moment, gazing around at them as if waiting for something- however, they didn't intend to give her the satisfaction, remaining quiet. Shaking her head slightly, she spoke again. "First, I would like to run this by you- each of you may be-"

Harry moved rapidly, almost faster than any of the others could see. He whipped out his wand once more, the ring given to them by the Titans slipped on his finger. "Azarath, Metrion-"

Wordlessly, Raven waved her hand, and a bolt of dark energy snapped into Harry's hand, knocking his wand out of it to be caught by Link, acting on swift reflexes, and knocking the ring from his finger to fly off the side of the tower and fall, noiselessly, to the ground.

"Good effort, but maybe you should find some shorter magic words," Raven suggested scathingly, seemingly oblivious to the looks of horror on her guests' faces. That had been their one chance...

"Now, as I was saying before I was so... _rudely_ interrupted... my first question. Each of you may be heroes in your own time, in your own ways. Only a fool would deny it. The fire that would save the clan, a key member of the Nerima Wrecking Crew that saved that town almost as often as destroying it... the once and future hero of Hyrule... the Boy Who Lived... the leader of the Chosen Four... the pilot of Unit 01 who protected Tokyo 3 on so many occasions... and the light that would lead humanity into the future, even past the dissipation of the universe," Raven concluded, passing her eyes over each of them in turn, beginning with Fireheart and ending in KOS-MOS. "Impressive things, all- you really should put them on your resumes. However... what has anyone ever done for you in return? A little pat on the back, a brief moment of commiseration for the hardships you faced, and then... what, everything moves along as normal, and soon enough, everyone forgets you ever existed? Is that truly just?"

The group remained silent, glaring right back at her. Raven continued. "Think about it- all they ever do is rely on you to do all the dirty work for them, go out and risk your life again and again to keep _them_ safe, while they watch from a safe distance, ready to forget about you as soon as you aren't useful anymore! Do they even deserve help in the first place?"

The first to speak was Harry, breaking the previous code of silence and speaking up, fury in his voice. "Why don't you shut up?" he growled. "Talk about how cruel the rest of the world is to you all you want- all you're doing is coming up with excuses for why you could never have been anything else, avoiding the truth- you _chose_ to be like this!"

Raven turned on him, fury in her eyes. "I'm surprised _you_, of all people, feel that way, Mr. Potter! After all, what is the 'thank you' _you've_ gotten for everything you've done to protect the wizarding world? Oh, right- they've turned against you already, libeling you in their papers and dismissing you as a madman for attempting to tell them the truth! Do such people really deserve the help you're always offering them?!"

"No, Harry's right!" Akane objected, standing tall and glaring the other woman down. "You go on and on about how the world rejected you, forced you into this, but we know the truth! We talked to your friends in the tunnel on the way here- one person did all of this to you, that Terra girl, and you decided to punish the rest of the world for what _she_ did, and then you come and try to tell _us_ about justice?!"

"Terra?" Raven grunted. "Oh, no, I don't hate her- if anything, I'm thankful to her! Without her, I would never have realized the truth about the scum that clings to this planet- she set up the plan, yes, but it's _humans_ that walked so willingly into it! Humans that so readily forgot everything I'd ever done for them, so quickly turned against me in a time of hardship, humans that never would have forgiven-"

"Oh, dear Giygas, do _not_ use that line on us!" Ness objected, sounding and looking far more scathing than any of the others had so far heard him. "So many of the villains on my journey, all going on about how there was never any other choice, because people would never have forgiven them for what they'd done already! Jeff calls _me_ childish, but even he thought that was more petulant than anything I ever did! Because guess what, I'm coming at you with something you'd have never, _ever_ predicted- _I _forgive you! If you're really sorry for what you've done- and I can tell- and you truly want to make amends- I'm always ready to forgive anyone and help them-"

"Shut UP!" Raven burst out, and abruptly, all of them found themselves silenced by dark magic crossing their mouths. Raven stood there for a moment, her chest heaving, before finally calming herself, dissipating the magic and continuing. "Alright, question 1 answered, time for question 2- why do you keep fighting despite that? What are your reasons? To protect the weak? For truth? _Love?_ Why keep on fighting when it's all going to end in death anyways? Why? Why keep going? Why persist?"

"Because I'm part of the clan," came the next answer, this time from Fireheart. "My clanmates will always have my back, and I'll always have theirs! We stand together against the cruelty of the outside world, working together to survive, because if we turned our backs towards each other, we wouldn't survive for long! Only the lowest warriors of the low would _ever_ turn against their comrades the way you did against yours!"

"Are you referring to those shades in the tunnel?" Raven asked, looking down on the feline beneath her. "I'm not certain you could really call them my comrades- my comrades died a long time ago. Those... those _things_ in the tunnel are just pale recreations, images of what they _might_ be like, were they still alive today. They have no more sentience than that _doll_ over there!" She glowered at KOS-MOS.

Fireheart hissed back, but Link was the next to speak. "That's a lie, and you know it! They _are_ your friends, revived in those forms! They wish for nothing more than to see you return to the way you were before, to see you redeemed for your sins! It is a pity that it seems their wishes cannot be fulfilled..."

"In addition, I am far more than a lifeless doll," KOS-MOS spoke up. "There is a phrase I believe is relevant here- I think, therefore, I am. My mere ability to wonder if I truly possess a soul confirms that I do, in fact, possess such free will. And I pride myself on having used it much better than you have- I truly act upon my own desires, while _you _simply gave in when people turned against you, becoming the very thing they thought you to be. In short, I keep fighting... because I choose to."

Raven's eyes narrowed further than ever before, but then she cast her eyes around, looking somewhat confused. "And what about that pilot? What does he have to say on the subject?"

The group glanced around, but all came to the same conclusion- Shinji simply wasn't there. He seemed to have vanished. "He didn't," Akane growled. "No... no, he did _not_!"

"Don't worry, don't worry!" Ness spoke quickly. "I'm sure, wherever he is, he'll be back soon, and he had good reasons for... for running out on us..."

XXXX

Shinji panted as he exited the door at the very bottom of the tower, glancing up at the roof once as he did so. What must they be thinking right now? He didn't know, but he hoped they'd understand soon. What he was doing had to be done, after all...

He was shaken out of his brief reverie by a shaking, crashing, and flashing of several lights from the roof, and quickly turned around once more, running as fast as his legs would carry him, eyes on the ground the whole time.

XXXX

The others all showed varying degrees of betrayal on their faces, but no one else had the chance to speak as Raven interjected. "It doesn't matter," she shook her head. "It's just as I thought- you're all the same. Victorious in your self-important battles, willing to kill for your own greedy ends... you get better reputations, but at the end of they day, you're just as low as the rest of the scum on this planet."

As she spoke, the group began to return to their fighting stances, drawing sword, wand, bat and claw...

"If you still refuse to see the truth," Raven growled as she slowly began to hover over the ground, her glare becoming more and more pronounced, "Then you can die along with them!"

She raised her hand and fired off a bolt of dark energy at Akane, but before it could make contact, Harry raised his wand and shouted, "Protego!" The light in front of Akane shimmered, and the energy bounced off of it- right back at Raven. Akane retaliated by leaping forward and aiming a kick at Raven's chest, but the woman in blue dodged out of the way, leaping to the side and deftly ducking under Link's swinging sword. Ness swung his baseball bat, but another wave of Raven's hand, and the bat was surrounded with dark energy and wrenched from the boy's hand, send skidding across the rooftop. KOS-MOS leapt into the air and brought her feet down towards Raven, spinning around as if attempting to drill into her, but once again, she was met only with a barrier that she couldn't penetrate.

"You seem to have missed this vital point," Raven growled, spinning around and slamming an elbow into Akane as she charged forward, knocking the martial artist to the ground. "This is _my_ world! You can't beat me here!"

Well, they seemed keen to give it a shot anyways- Link produced a bow and arrow and fired at her. Moving quickly, almost as if they'd planned it, Mario pointed his wand at the arrow and cried, "Incendio!" The arrow burst into flames as it hurtled towards Raven, but another wave of the sorceress's hands summoned a portal that redirected the arrow back at them. It was only a quick cry from Ness of "Psi Shield!" that prevented them from almost literally being impaled upon their own sword. Speaking of Ness, he'd produced another weapon from his backpack- a yo-yo that he was spinning around and around. "Like my technique?" he smiled. "Time to bring it around town! Bring it around town! Bring it around town!"

"What are you event trying to accomplish?" Raven snarled, ducking under the first swing of the yo-yo and subsequently dodging all the rest.

"Distracting ya, fool!" Ness grinned brightly. Raven spun around to be met by a punch to the face from Akane.

"About time we landed a hit on her," Akane growled, lashing out with a kick- that was deflected by another barrier.

"For the first and last time, I promise," Raven snarled, thrusting the barrier forward. Akane leapt out of the way.

"Ness!" came a call from the end of the roof. Ness spun around to see Fireheart next to his bat.

"Roger!" the boy grinned wildly, leaping forward and catching the bat as Fireheart slammed it forward. He spun around and managed to catch Raven in the back this time- she'd been pre-occupied defending herself from a flurry of spells from Harry and sword-strikes from Link.

Raven flew into the air, winded. Link was snarling as he drew his bow once more. "Oh, yes, attacking six people at once who are all furious at you and trained in fighting. What's the word for that?"

"Mouse-brained," Fireheart growled.

Raven, heedless, dropped herself down, bringing her foot towards Akane, who dodged out of the way and made to grab said foot, only for her hand to be blasted back by a bolt of dark energy. "OW! Dammit!"

Ness popped up next to her and quickly muttered, "Quick, off to the side, I'll take care of that for ya..."

Akane held her damaged hand out for him, and he muttered a few words under his breath. A faint light surrounded his hands that passed to hers, and miraculously, her hand was healed entirely. "Ness... that's amazing!"

"Well, you didn't think my psychic powers are just for reading minds, did ya?" Ness smiled.

"Over here, you two!" came a shout, and they spun to see Harry and Link caught, bound by dark magic. However, before they could get over, Raven let out a cry of pain and lashed out with her foot. Looking down, they saw Fireheart careening across the rooftop, leaving behind a nice set of teeth-and-claw marks in Raven's leg.

"Fireheart!" Harry called out. Looking down, he realized that he and Link had been freed.

"You will pay for that," Link snarled, drawing his bow again.

"Please," Raven retorted. "Do you truly believe that you can land a hit on me?"

"Likelihood of landing next four attacks- great," came the reply from behind her, but she didn't have time to turn before KOS-MOS seized her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides in a grip stronger than a vice.

The remaining four all moved at once- Harry summoned the happiest thought he could think of and shouted, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Ness, meanwhile, began twirling his baseball bat, shouting out, "PSI ROCKIN' OMEGA!" Akane too the opportunity to draw her famous mallet and leap in the air, driving it down towards her, just as Link leapt forward with his blade.

One by one, every attack made its mark. A silver stag caught her around the chest, the mallet slammed her head into the ground, (whereupon KOS-MOS finally released her,) a gigantic burst of psychic energy blasted her in the chest- and before she could recover from any of the above, Link landed on her, driving his sword into her chest with all the strength he could muster.

"Ness... Fireheart," Akane growled, standing over Raven alongside the others. Ness nodded and quickly ran over to where Fireheart was wiped out on the roof.

"Lifeup Gamma!" he belted out, running his hands quickly up and down his feline form. Fireheart trembled, twitched, and finally opened his eyes.

"Did you get her?" were the first words from his mouth.

Ness smiled. "Yeah, we got her. Good thinking there- may have won us the fight-"

However, before he could speak again, he found himself caught in a pincer-like grip. He could see Fireheart, surrounded by that dark energy Raven seemed to champion, and could only assume he was in a similar situation. He found himself being lifted from the ground and turned to face Raven, rising from the floor and holding her hands aloft. From them sprouted six streams of dark energy, holding every single one of them tightly, ensuring they couldn't escape. "You... you fools!" she snarled. "Even after everything that's happened... everything I've shown you, everything you've seen... you _still_ refuse to acknowledge the truth! I thought I could save you, show you what humanity is really like, but _you just won't see it!_ Well, enough. No more holding back- it's time to end this!"

Slowly, she began to levitate in the air, glaring around at them all, and, before their eyes, began to transform. She closed her eyes, and as she opened them up, they multiplied- rather than the two large blue eyes she'd had before, there were now four, smaller, furious red eyes- not just the irises, either, the entirety of the eyes were red. She was surrounded by a blinding light, and even as it died down, it refused to do so around her- the only features of hers they could make out through the white light that seemed to have replaced her body were those red eyes, glaring at them. Only a few other vague features were apparent- a set of wings, spreading out from her back, her arms, still outstretched to hold them in place... the dark energy binding them changed too, turning from black to white to match the... _thing_ Raven was becoming, throwing off all of her human side, allowing her demonic blood and her own hatred to consume her...

"AZARATH, METRION, _ZINTHOS!_"

And suddenly, it was over. From the direction of the sudden new voice came a pulse- a shockwave of sorts that moved swiftly across the rooftop, dissipating Raven's magic along the way. As each subsequent member of the group felt it, the magic that had previously bound them vanished, and they were dropped to the roof. But the person who felt it the most... was Raven. When the shockwave hit her, it slammed her across the roof and into the basketball hoop, wiping away the light that had surrounded her and returning her, largely, to normal.

The now free members of the group quickly cast their eyes around for their savior- and found him. Standing by the top of the staircase, trembling as if he still couldn't fully believe what he'd just done, was none other than Shinji Ikari.

"Shin-Shin!" Ness cried, dashing across the roof and pulling him into a hug. "I _knew_ you'd come back, I just _knew _it!"

"Where _did_ you go?" Harry asked, tucking his wand away back up his sleeve as he crossed the roof as well.

"Well... they said... they said we'd need the ring... to beat her, so when... when it went over the side... I thought I'd go get it and bring it back. And when I did, I saw what was going on, and... well..." Shinji kept his eyes on his shoes the whole time. "Sorry."

"Sorry, nothing!" Akane shook her head. "You just saved all our butts!"

"Very interesting," Link agreed. "You have no magic ability, and yet had no problems using the ring... you must have used some very strong emotion... how?"

"Easy," Shinji muttered. "I just remembered what she did... as Karasu... and I got all the emotion I needed..."

"Well, you remember when I said you'd knock our socks off?" Ness grinned. "All I want to say is: I hope someone picks up that phone, because I flipping _called_ it!"

"Well done, Shinji," Fireheart nodded. "I regret the brief moment that I doubted you when we realized you'd run off. I'm proud to be your mentor."

Shinji gave a weak smile. "And I'm... proud to be... your apprentice..."

"So, what shall we do with Raven?" KOS-MOS spoke up, and a jolt seemed to pass over the group. Slowly, they turned towards where Raven was still laying in a heap where Shinji had left her. Moving towards her, they heard a faint noise coming from her.

"K...K...Ki..."

"What was that? You'll have to speak up, even _I _can't hear you," Fireheart growled.

"K...Kill...me..."

"With pleasure," Link growled, drawing his sword again. However, Ness raised his hand.

"Hold up there, Link."

Everyone turned to Ness, ready to offer him truly exasperated glances, only to see him looking down at Raven with pure animosity in his eyes. A shadow seemed to have crossed his face as he moved forward, brandishing his bat threateningly. "I'll take care of her," he muttered. Bending down, he asked, "So... you want us to kill you, huh?"

Raven seemed greatly weakened after what had just happened, but she forced a nod nonetheless. Abruptly, Ness brightened up, a smile appearing on his face. He reached out and gripped her nose between his index and middle fingers. "*EGH!*" he made the classic buzzer sound. "Wrong answer!"

"W-wh-"

"What, you think we're gonna let you off that easy?" Ness pointed out. "Leaving you here, in your own personal hell that you built yourself? Somehow, I think that's _way_ crueler than just killing you off right now!"

"...Indeed," Link nodded, sheathing his sword. "That does seem a more fitting punishment, now that I think on it."

"Leave her to stew in her own crap?" Akane noted thoughtfully. "Yeah... yeah, I'm seeing the appeal here."

"Dumbledore always _was_ saying there are things much worse than death," Harry nodded.

"Starclan themselves couldn't have ordained a worse punishment," Fireheart agreed.

Shinji remained silent, but KOS-MOS spoke up. "In that case, may I suggest we return to the tunnel? We have a promise to fulfill, after all..."

All seven turned their back on the huddled blue mass and crossed the roof towards the stairs. A few steps later, they were back in the hall. Shinji was the first to speak. "So... how are we going to get home, then?"

"Well, if the Titans were able to put something like that together," Harry thought out loud, glancing at the ring, "I'm sure they'll be able to put together something to get us all back to our own times."

"And once that happens," Akane picked up the conversation, "I expect to see you soon, Ness."

"Wait, what?" Link asked. "How?"

"Like I told them, back at home, a friend of mine is building a machine that will let anyone travel through time!" Ness grinned brightly. "We figured that, soon as it's all together, I could take a little round trip, pay all of you a visit!"

"Yeah... yeah, I'd like that," Harry smiled. "I want to go back to my own friends, of course, but seeing all of you again... it's not a bad idea."

"I'll keep an eye out for you in the tree-cut-place," Fireheart noted. "I don't normally go out of my way for twolegs, either, so consider yourselves lucky."

"The clans won't even notice you were missing," Ness smiled.

"I have located the door to the stairwell," KOS-MOS announced, pulling it open. "Let us enter, shall we?"

One by one, they all filed in, only to look up in confusion on the other side. "Er, KOS-MOS... not questioning your intelligence, but..." Ness noted slowly.

"This... this isn't the stairs," Shinji agreed.

"Are you sure you remembered the way?" Link asked, turning to the android.

KOS-MOS looked just as confused as the others. "I was certain that this was the proper door... I recorded our journey from the tunnel entirely in my data banks... Could I have been... incorrect?"

The room they were in now was clearly not the stairs- it more closely resembled a hybrid of living room and kitchen, mostly taken up by a carpet, a large couch, and a plasma-screen TV behind which was a large window with a fantastic view of the city, but the corner contained a table fit for six or eight people, along with a kitchen unit, complete with refrigerator, stove, and microwave.

Akane took a few tentative steps into the room, the others close behind her. "No, I think she's right... I remember this being the stairs, too..."

"And so they were," came a cold voice from the door. "But I couldn't let you get away that easily..."

Everyone spun around to see Raven in the doorway, looking more furious than ever before. She seemed to be locked into her human form, but her eyes were still in that state where there were four red eyes rather than the two blue ones. Before any of them could react to her presence, she raised her arms again, binding every one of them in dark energy. Shinji opened his mouth to say the spell again, but another strip of black magic covered his mouth, as yet another wrapped around the ring, wrenched it off of his finger, and tossed it out of the window, breaking the glass to do so.

Raven was practically frothing at the mouth as she spat out, "I told you all once already... you cannot kill me! As long as hatred exists, so will I! From the ancient past..." A twitch of her wrist, and Link was sent hurtling across the room into the corner, bound by magic, "to the distant future!" Another flick of her hands, and KOS-MOS met the same fate. "In times of peace..." There went Ness, "and times of war!" Fireheart. "In every time..." Akane... "and every place!" Harry. "The basis of all conflict, the basis of all _humanity..._" With nowhere along the walls left, Shinji was left being slammed into the ground, bound and unable to move... "It... is... HATRED!"

One by one, the members of the group began disappearing. KOS-MOS, Akane, Link, Fireheart, Harry, Ness, and, finally, Shinji vanished from the room, as if they'd never been there to begin with.

XXXX

KOS-MOS looked around a plain of total darkness. Finally, a voice spoke out of it: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."

"The RV-10 system," KOS-MOS guessed. "I have been returned to the ship, at the moment I hacked into its core AI. Is this incorrect?"

"It is not," the voice spoke again. A burst of data occurred in front of KOS-MOS, and in the center, the voice took form- Raven stood before her once more. "There is nothing more to say. Things will not happen as they did before. By the end of this, you will be even more of a lifeless shell than you were before."

KOS-MOS allowed herself the faintest of smiles. "If I were human, I believe my reaction would be... 'Come at me, sis.' If I were human."

And with that, the two leapt at each other.

XXXX

Akane collapsed to the ground, nursing a black eye, blood flowing freely from her mouth and nose. Panting, she gasped out, "How... how did I get into this mess?"

Looking up, she saw Raven approaching. "Do you see now?" she asked, grabbing Akane's hair and pulling it back as if she were about to slit her throat. "How worthless you are? Martial arts are about strength, not any sort of idealistic crap. Now for your final demonstration."

Akane looked around. That's right... this was exactly how things had happened last time... except this time, Ryoga was nowhere to be seen... but then, neither were any of Wu Ya's followers...

"No more interferences," Raven explained. "Not this time- it's down to you, and it's down to me."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way," Akane smirked, lashing out with a foot that connected with Raven's stomach. The young woman staggered backwards, eyes filling with fury as she adopted a martial arts stance. The two women glared at each other for a moment, then leapt forward.

XXXX

Link opened his eyes to find himself in a large room made of stone. "Feeling sentimental?" came a dry, mocking voice from behind him.

"Raven," he growled, spinning around and drawing his sword. Sure enough, there she stood, rapier in hand, looking just as she had back when she called herself 'Lady Gavran.' "Well, I guess we don't have anything else to say to each other, do we?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Gavran agreed, and without another word, leapt forward, brandishing her blade.

XXXX

Fireheart found himself surrounded by darkness, with dirt underpaw. Peering around and allowing his eyes to adjust, he found himself in a dark, earthy tunnel. Above him was a gap, as if someone had just fallen through, opening up to a view of the stars. Looking around, he found himself entirely alone... until he heard an oncoming growl and the thuds of heavy feet. Turning, he saw Raven, once more in the form of the Blue-Eyed Beast, approaching, growling in pure rage. However, instead of fear, he felt only fury. "I see you left Blackfoot, Graystripe, and Sandstorm out of it this time," he noted. "Well, that's fine by me- I'll take you out myself!" With that, he leapt forward, claws unsheathed.

XXXX

Harry stumbled slightly, but quickly regained his balance- he was on the stage in the center of the Great Hall once more, and in front of him stood Raven, wand out and pointed directly at him. "Relax... I gave them quick deaths- just long enough to savor the look of terror in their eyes as they realized their day of judgement had come. Talia, Mclaggen, Malfoy... they all fell to me, and now, you'll join them. No suicide rounds this time- one of us walks away, the other dies here."

"If you insist," Harry responded quietly, then quickly drew his wand and fired off a patronus. Raven dodged to the side and began firing off jets of green light...

XXXX

Raven marched forward down the streets of Onette, the sound of the fight between the townspeople and the Blue Bloods raging around her. Ness smiled as he drew his bat. Glancing to his sides, he noted that Jeff, Paula, and Poo were nowhere to be seen. Looks like he'd have to actually try this time...

"You've proven harder to kill than I'd ever thought possible," Raven growled. "But that all ends now."

She raised her guns and fired them, only for them to disappear, just like last time. Growling in fury, she shouted, "HOW?! Your friends aren't here to protect you anymore!"

"Oh, they're always by my side!" Ness retorted, positively writhing in excitement at getting to give this speech. "Friendship is the most powerful force in the world- or didn't you know? Time and distance mean nothing to it!"

"I can't believe you're giving me this speech again!" Raven raged, advancing menacingly.

"How many times do I have to tell you- we- the people of Onette, me and the other Time Warriors, and everyone in the world- we all stand together, and that gives us a protection that some dirtbag like you could never understand!"

Raven could only say, "...Time Warriors?"

"It's the name I just came up with," Ness explained jovially. "We're warriors... from across time, so yeah! Time Warriors!"

"That is the most ridiculous, asinine thing I've ever heard!"

"You know what else is ridiculous and asinine?" Raven didn't give him the satisfaction, but he went ahead and said it anyways- "Psi Rockin' Gamma!"

XXXX

Shinji flinched slightly, and suddenly found himself in the entry plug of Unit 1, rocketing upwards towards Tokyo-3. Looking around, he saw that Rei wasn't at his side this time- whatever he was being thrown into now, he was being thrown into it alone.

Unit 1 launched into the air, finally landing in the city, and Shinji raked his eyes around, searching for what he could only guess was the reason he was back here...

And, sure enough, off in the distance was Raven's Evangelion, laying waste to the city. Shinji felt fury course through him- Raven thought she could do whatever she wanted, torment his friends, and destroy his city? Not anymore- he was at home in his Eva, and it was time for this to end.

He drew his prog knife and rushed forward, attacking Raven from behind. Raven spun around and grabbed his Evangelion's wrist, punching him in the chest. Shinji felt his Evangelion's pain, collapsing to the ground as Raven's Eva grabbed Unit 1's other wrist as well, forcing him into submission.

A transmission came through- Shinji looked up to see Raven's face in front of him. "Have you forgotten my powers? I can read you like an open book..."

"No, I haven't forgotten," Shinji gasped out, wincing in pain as Raven jerked his Evangelion's arms around. "But... but I think _you've_ forgotten... how my Eva's designed!"

With that, he rammed his head forward, piercing the chest of Raven's Eva with the horn at the top of his own. Raven let out a screech as she felt her Eva's pain, letting go of Unit 1 by instinct, giving Shinji the time he needed to back up, stand, and charge forward, slamming Raven to the ground and finishing her off with the prog knife.

XXXX

Ness dodged to the side as Raven opened fire once more. He was growing tired... he was running out of psychic energy... if he was going to finish this, he'd have to do it soon...

"Feeling a little strained?" Raven taunted as she closed in on him. "I think I've had much more practice with psychic powers than you ever had."

"Yeah, well, you know what they say..." Ness muttered, falling to the ground and allowing Raven to approach. "About... beginner's luck!" He closed his eyes, and abruptly, a bright, brilliant light emitted from his body, blinding the unprepared Raven and sending her staggering back. Ness wasted no time in leaping to his feet and smashing her in the head with his baseball bat, sending her reeling across the street. "Oh, man, that was so awesome! I've never managed to use Psi without talking before! Imma try it again!"

He spun his baseball bat around, laughing and cheering, but not speaking, even as diamonds of energy flew out of him and rushed towards Raven... definitively ending the fight.

XXXX

Harry fell to the ground as another killing curse soared over his head. Another narrow dodge... he couldn't keep doing this...

"You're slipping," Raven noted, approaching steadily.

"And your technique isn't any better than last time," Harry recalled. "Still haven't learned any other spells, I see..."

"Does it matter?" Raven asked. "I only need to know enough to kill you- after that, what more do I need?"

"Well, if you knew a bit more about wizard's magic, you might have known... PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"

Raven, caught off guard, suddenly turned stiff as a board, collapsing to the ground with her arms and legs pinned together. Harry approached her and pointed his wand down at her. "I could end it right now," he reflected. "Two words, and this would all be over... but somehow, I don't think the others would want it that way. We're not like you- I do it like this, and we might as well not be fighting you at all. And that's why- _Stupefy!_"

A jet of red light shot from his wand and hit Raven square in the chest, blasting her across the room.

XXXX

Fireheart swung around, managing to dodge another strike from Raven's mighty paws. This wasn't good... true, he'd been avoiding her strikes so far, but without the help of his comrades, he was finding it much more difficult than before to land a single hit on his adversary. He had to think...

His usual strategy of playing dead and letting his foe come in for an easy killing strike? Not the best idea- that was a ploy developed for use against other cats. Against something like this, that would be remarkably foolish...

Toppling the Beast would be the ideal strategy, but again, he was on his own this time- no Graystripe, Sandstorm, or Blackfoot to help him out...

Well, no matter what, he certainly wouldn't get anywhere just standing around waiting to be killed. Throwing all caution to the wind, he charged directly at Raven, dodging another strike and digging his claws into her side. She gave a yowl of pain as he scrambled his way up onto her back, where she began twisting and turning, trying to knock him off. Well, it certainly _had_ been harder without his fellow warriors, but he thought, from this vantage point, he might be able to pull it off anyways. Careful to dig his claws as far into Raven's flesh as possible to ensure he didn't get thrown off, he began making his way forward, until he was just behind her neck. Baring his teeth, he opened wide and plunged them into Raven's neck.

XXXX

Raven, apparently, had become much better with a sword since their last encounter- while Link wasn't losing much ground, he wasn't gaining any either. Every offensive strike was parried by his enemy, and she was keeping him on the defense so often that said strikes were few and far between.

"This is getting boring," Raven snarled. "How about we just skip to the part where you die?"

She leapt back, and began floating up into the air. Raising her arms, she began gathering her energy into a ball of dark magic. Link, looking up, felt a sudden familiarity in the situation... but could it work this time?

Raven swung her sword, sending the orb of black magic hurtling down towards him, only for him to swing his sword and knock it right back at her. Realizing what was happening, she quickly swung her sword and sent it straight back. Link brandished his shield, pushing it forward just as the black magic made contact and sending it back to Raven. Back, forth, back, forth, gaining momentum all the time, until Raven was the first to mis-time her swing, and was struck by her own dark spell.

She let out a scream as she fell to the ground, dark energy crackling around her, and Link wasted no time rushing forward, leaping into the air, and driving his sword down into her with _extreme_ prejudice.

XXXX

Raven and Akane had yet to make any sort of contact with each other. "Have you been working out since our last fight?" Akane asked. "It's just, I recall that last time, the fight was over without you even standing a chance!"

Raven's snarl grew more pronounced, and she began fighting more and more furiously. Something occurred to Akane- fury in battle- both a blessing and a curse. She herself knew how strong it could make one- it was, after all, what had assisted her to defeat Raven the first time- but if she could figure out how to exploit it...

Akane flipped over Raven and took the fight to the other side of the room. Raven followed suit, charging directly at her. Akane braced herself, waiting... waiting... NOW!

She flipped out of the way and allowed Raven to slam directly into the gong erected behind her old chair. She reeled back, dazed, and Akane didn't waste the opportunity, diving forward and slamming Raven into the ground. The next step- chopping the ropes that held the gong up and allowing it to crash into the ground- and into Raven.

XXXX

The battle between KOS-MOS and Raven was certainly going much differently from before- rather than turn-based combat, the two were punching and smashing each other back and forth across the S.S. Tasha's computer grid. "Based on the alteration in fighting mechanics, would it be safe to assume that you have altered the game being played on the console?" KOS-MOS speculated.

"Indeed," Raven confirmed. "I removed the RPG and replaced it with an old fighting game- Super Bash Sisters, or some such nonsense."

"Fascinating," KOS-MOS noted, blocking a strike from Raven with a shield she managed to summon out of nowhere. "Hmm... I could not have done that under normal circumstances... truly fascinating."

"You've played many video games, haven't you?" Raven speculated. "Unfortunate. A paragon of intelligence, and you choose to play such mindless things? Truly a waste."

"I am not certain," KOS-MOS shook her head. "It has offered me... certain advantages."

"Such as?"

KOS-MOS leapt over Raven's head and landed right next to a glowing sphere that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Spinning around, she reached out with her hand and smashed it open, whereupon she began to glow. Pointing back at Raven, her arm was suddenly replaced with a large gun of some sort. "Maser... CANNON!"

A beam larger than the two of them combined fired from the gun, enveloping Raven thoroughly, obliterating her entirely.

XXXX

One by one, each of the Time Warriors reappeared in that living room, dropping to the ground from where they'd previously been bound. Raven, panting and heaving, collapsed to the ground once more, leaving the Time Warriors to reconvene.

"Are you all okay?" Fireheart asked, concerned.

"Yeah... yeah, I think I'm fine," Shinji checked himself.

"All systems functioning normally," KOS-MOS confirmed.

"Looks like we all pulled through," Harry agreed, gazing over them all. "Now..."

They all turned towards Raven, looking even more disheveled than before. Slowly, she turned her gaze up to them, and her eyes had returned to their normal state. "Why... why can't I kill you?"

"No one needs to know why," Link shook his head. "But, perhaps... perhaps it's because there's some part of you that knows that all this was wrong."

"That definitely sounds possible," Ness agreed. "I mean, bringing us Time Warriors together was pretty awesome, but all the other stuff... not so much."

Everyone turned their gaze to him at the mention of 'Time Warriors,' but KOS-MOS was the next to speak. "Indeed... you claim to hate humans, but at the end of the day... you yourself _are_ human. Perhaps the humanity within you wouldn't allow you to give in to the demon."

Raven looked at the ground, gasping. "Human... I... am... human..."

"I can see why you might have lost it," Akane put in. "After everything that happened, you cut yourself off from the world, afraid something like it might happen again... but that wasn't exactly healthy."

"No," Fireheart concurred. "All forms of life are born longing for companionship. It's certainly possible to go it alone... but no one would truly desire to."

"Eventually, you'd find yourself wanting to be with others, to be with anyone besides just yourself," Shinji spoke from experience.

"And when that happens... what can you do?" Harry shrugged. "I don't know- the answers never come easy. All I know... is that I want to go back home. To Ron and Hermione. All I want... is to go back home."

Raven looked as though it was costing her all the effort she had to keep looking up at them. "You... you... you're... right..."

For a moment, they seemed taken aback- they hadn't expected her to actually agree with them. The smallest of smiles crossed Raven's face- not one of the nasty smiles they'd grown accustomed to, but a genuine smile. "All this time, hating humans, cutting myself off from the world, dwelling alone in my own... you know... and I couldn't see the truth. I... I'm human... myself."

A long silence hung over them for a long moment, and eventually, Raven was the one to break it. "I'm dying," she muttered. "I used up all of my energy with those last battles against you... there's nothing you could do, even if you wanted. This is the end of the road for me... when I die, you'll all return home. I think... I think all the damage I did... will be undone... from here on out, it will be like none of this ever happened. Go back to your homes... and be heroes. But... but don't forget...

"This may not end with me. In any time, in any place, given enough hatred, anyone could follow the path I did. Keep your eyes open, and do what you can to make sure... nothing like this... ever... happens... again..."

Raven slumped to the floor, and didn't move again.

Turning to the windows, the group saw the clouds over the city beginning to dissipate. "It's over," Harry smiled. "It's... it's finally over..."

"There are many things I would wish to say to you all," KOS-MOS said, gathering the others' attention, "however, my time is short."

"KOS-MOS, you're-" Akane gasped. KOS-MOS was fading away, turning more and more transparent as they watched.

"It is okay," the android shook her head. "I am simply returning to my own home. Before I go, I would simply wish to say that, despite it all, I am glad to have met you. The feelings I have experienced over the past 24 hours could be quantified as... enjoyment. I wish... to see you all... again..."

And with that, she was gone. Looking around, Link wondered, "Who's next?"

"Me, it looks like," came a voice from their ankles, and they looked down to see Fireheart going through the same routine. "Well, I suppose I should say it- not _all_ twolegs are steaming heaps of fox dung. If I could see all of you again- if the opportunity arose- I think... I think I might..."

But before he could conclude the thought, he was gone.

"I believe I'm next," Link noted, looking down at his hand, which had a gaping hole in it. "I don't have much to say to you all. From what Ness has said, I know this is not goodbye, so I won't say that, just... until we meet again."

And he disappeared as well.

Harry turned to Shinji. "Well, it seems like quite a while since we woke up in that cell, huh?"

Shinji nodded, eyes downcast. Harry smiled slightly. "Don't worry. Ness's friend will finish that time machine, and then we'll all come to your side. You won't have to be alone anymore."

Looking down, he noted that his entire body had vanished except for his head. "Well, looks like my time's up..."

And then there were three. Akane looked down to see her stomach vanishing. "Well, see you two around, I suppose," she noted. "Ness... don't keep me waiting, got it, baka?"

"Scout's honor!" Ness grinned, crossing his heart with one hand and raising the other in a salute. Before he could finish his heart-crossing, it was just him and Shinji.

Shinji looked up at him. "You're sure you'll be able to come?"

"Oh, yeah, don't worry about it!" Ness nodded, grinning. "And maybe we'll even be able to see about cancelling out that whole Second Impact thing! While we're working on the machine, I'll be sure to ask Jeff about what the consequences might be, a'ight?"

"Thanks," Shinji gave a faint smile. "I... I'll look forward to it. Another adventure..."

"Yeah, there's always another adventure," Ness agreed. Looking down, he noted, "Well, looks like I'm going. Just remember, Shin-Shin- when on your way out, be sure that you say goodbye, and lock the door tight."

Shinji raised his eyebrows, but before he could say anything else, Ness had disappeared, leaving him to turn towards the window overlooking the city.

The red of the sky was steadily giving way to blue. As he felt the sun on his skin for the first time in quite a while, he thought he could see a distant shimmering over the ocean. He didn't know, and none of the others were left to ask, but he liked to think that it was the spirits of the Titans, finally released, rising up into the sky. Looking down, he saw that he was fading away- much less frightening this time. "Goodbye," he muttered. Looking at where all the others had disappeared, he smiled and spoke one last phrase. "And soon... hello."

And then there were none. The sun continued to shine over the abandoned city, and while it would be many, many years before any humans set foot there again, as summer came, the birds would return to their old trees, chirping brightly as they began to bear, once more, small, sweet apples.

_XXXX_

And... the end. Well, not quite- there _is_ one more chapter after this, but it's just going to be an epilogue to wrap everything up with a nice little bow. Shouldn't be that long, five or six pages, if that. As such, it'll probably be up really soon- tomorrow or the day after sounds pretty reasonable. I'll run my usual credits then, but for now, since this is effectively the story's end, I guess I'll give my end-of-story notes now. Next time will just be the credits and a sign-off. Okay, so... this mini-series.

Well, to begin with, I expected this to be done almost a year ago, now, but I fell off the wagon in a really bad way. I'm really glad to be coming back and finishing it up, and I'm sure anyone who was waiting for the conclusion is equally glad. This is certainly not one of my more popular stories- I have more reviews on some of my other stories than some of the Live Alive stories have views, so you can do the math on that one. But I wasn't writing this story for popularity- I was doing it to have fun. And isn't that what fanfiction is really about, in the end? Having fun? And this series was certainly a lot of fun to write- bringing all the different fandoms together and working with them in the vein of an underrated classic... seriously, if you enjoyed this story, or even if you didn't- if you disliked this story but liked the concepts behind it, I implore you to go check out Live A Live. If you have any appreciation for RPGs at all, you really owe it to yourself to give this game a whirl. It plays absolute havoc with typical RPG tropes, happily subverting them as often as play them straight, with very unique gameplay and story. And it was the inspiration for Chrono Trigger, one of the most highly-rated games of all time, so that's something. This series had its good moments, it's not so good moments, and... well... the hiatus. I want to give a big thank you to Feline Within, who faithfully reviewed every installment, as well as placing them all on her favorites list and encouraging me to keep it up. It's probably not any exaggeration to say that without her asking what happened to this series, this story would still be sitting in the 'unfinished' category. (Well, technically, it's still not finished yet, but you know what I mean.) (Also, everything I just said will probably be really awkward if it turns out Feline Within is a guy.) So, concluding thoughts? Go play Live A Live, and, if you enjoyed the story... please R&amp;R, constructive criticism embraced, flames not so much, Gamer4 out.


	7. Epilogue: Reunion

Gamer4 in. Well, this has been much longer in coming than it should have been. But, at long last, here it is: the final chapter of the Live Alive mini-series. Thanks to anyone who's stuck around this long. Without further adieu, let's wrap this thing up.

Disclaimer: In honor of the occasion, a very special not-disclaimer, direct from Live A Live, the Buriki Daioh song! Go, go, Buriki Daioh! Ima wa mukashi no babironia! Hagane no kobushi ga ten wo tsuku! Igyou no majin wo taosu tame Ikari de hi wo tomose! Atsui kokoro ga yobisamasu! Buriki! Daioh! Ware to ari!... Yeah, I didn't understand a word of that either.

Epilogue

Reunion

Jeff and Paula walked quickly together through the streets of Threed, making their way to Saturn Valley. "So, Poo's not going to be coming today?" Paula asked.

"No, doesn't look like it," Jeff shook his head. "He _is _the prince of Dalaam, after all- he has to be responsible _sometimes._"

"I still find it hard to believe, honestly," Paula admitted. "I mean, Ness just shows up one day and starts ranting about all these things that happened... Onette being attacked, us helping him out, the trip through the deserted city..."

"Yeah, it's pretty strange," Jeff agreed, "but he showed us, remember? Hard to believe, but he was telling the truth- all that really _did _happen..."

"Hey, guys, how's it going?" Ness suddenly appeared before them, stepping out of a nearby alley.

"Oh, Ness, we thought you were in Saturn Valley already," Paula greeted him.

"Yeah, just thought I'd come over and let you know..."

He motioned them to him conspiratorially. "It's all good, guys, it's all good." With that, still with a dead-serious look on his face, he lifted his baseball cap from his head and returned it there, upside-down. "Check it!" he smiled, then turned and dashed off.

"Wait, Ness, Saturn Valley is... that... way..." Paula shook her head. "I really wonder what goes through that boy's head sometimes..."

"I'm not sure I _want _to know," Jeff muttered. "Come on, let's get going..."

XXXX

"No, I don't remember anything like that," Ness shrugged when they confronted him about it later on. They were all in the middle of Saturn Valley, along with a group of onlooking Mr. Saturns, the Apple Kid, and Jeff's father, Professor Andonuts, who were milling around a strange device in the shape of a sphere, but decorated to resemble a Mr. Saturn.

"Ness, don't mess around with us, alright?" Jeff said. "You very clearly did, there's no reason to not admit it."

"No, seriously, I don't know what you're-" Ness stopped himself abruptly. "Oh. _Ohhhhhh. _Oh. I think I've got it!"

"We're ready now, my boy," came a voice from behind him, and Ness turned to see Professor Andonuts standing there. "The first trial of human time travel. I'm so glad to be here at this moment..."

"It's alright, Dr. A!" Ness exclaimed happily. "Now I'm _certain _that this is gonna work!"

Everyone gathered round as a hatch opened in the side of the strange contraption, and Ness entered. Several strange groaning sounds later, and the machine faded out of existence.

"Now what?" Paula wondered out loud.

"Now we wait," Jeff noted, closing his eyes and leaning his chin against his chest.

A moment later, the groaning sounds once more filled the air, and the machine reappeared. The hatch opened up, and Ness came out. "BAM! Totally works!"

"How can you tell?" Professor Andonuts wondered.

"No, he's right!" Jeff spoke up, with a burst of understanding. "It really _does _work!"

"Now you got it!" Ness grinned. "Well, no reason to beat around the bush here much longer, I guess!"

"You have everything you need?" Jeff asked. "You know where to find them all- _when _to find them all? You're _sure _you're all ready?"

"Yeah, it's cool, Jeff, it's cool!" Ness nodded excitedly. "Well, back in a sec!"

He closed the hatch, and once more, the machine faded from existence.

"How _did _you know?" Professor Andonuts asked confusedly.

"Just a hunch," Paula smiled, gazing at where Ness had disappeared, his hat upside-down on his head.

XXXX

"I think I see one..." Sandstorm muttered quietly, stalking through the grass alongside Fireheart.

"Yeah, you got it," Fireheart agreed. Ahead of them was a mouse, scurrying through the brush. "You want this one?"

In answer, Sandstorm simply dropped into a stalking position, slowly but steadily making her way towards the furry creature. A second later, she pounced, and it was pretty much over after that.

"We're on border patrol," Sandstorm noted. "Feel like sharing this one?"

"Sounds good," Fireheart concurred. The two of them gathered around the mouse and began devouring it.

"Too bad Graystripe couldn't come today. He's off on another one of his mysterious outings," Sandstorm mewed.

"Yeah... too bad..." Fireheart muttered. He knew, of course, what Graystripe was up to, but Sandstorm wasn't to know about Silverstream.

Abruptly, Sandstorm stood erect, her ears pricked. "Do you hear that?"

Fireheart stood up, listening as hard as he could, and was finally able to detect a faint groaning sound. However, to Sandstorm's surprise, he actually seemed happy to hear it. "Just a second," he muttered, stalking towards it. "I'll be right back."

He ran through a nearby bush. The groaning sound once more filled the air, than disappeared. Sandstorm waited only a moment before following, only to discover an empty clearing. "Fireheart?" she wondered confusedly.

XXXX

"Why this particular castle, Link?" Zelda asked, gazing up at the stone structure above her.

"It holds... a special significance for me," Link explained as well as he could.

"This castle is an old fortress of the Sheikah tribe," Zelda noted. "That's what Impa told us... but it's been abandoned for years now. What's so special about it?"

"Just... some important things happened here, that's all."

Zelda eyed him with trace amounts of suspicion. "You've been acting odd lately. You've always been close to Impa, of course- she is like a mother to us- and yet you seem particularly fond of her ever since... a week or two ago. And offering your help with everything around the castle... acting as though you hadn't seen it for a long time..."

"I could explain," Link acknowledged, "but somehow, I doubt you'd believe me."

Link led the way into the castle, in and down and up and around halls that Zelda couldn't recognize, but which Link appeared to know quite well. Finally, they discovered a large chamber that seemed to be the throne room.

"What is that?" Zelda gasped, spying an oddly-decorated, large metal sphere.

"Ah," Link smiled, seeming strangely satisfied. "It's about time. Don't worry, milady- I'll be back momentarily."

With that, he stepped up to the orb, which opened for him, and stepped in. And, right there, in front of Zelda's wondering eyes, a groaning noise filled the air, and the strange object began to vanish.

XXXX

Ranma and Akane were on their way to school, Akane on the ground, Ranma walking up on the fence, as usual. Ranma had a question for Akane, but was fumbling on how exactly to ask it.

Akane had been acting... unusual lately. She'd always had a rougher side and a softer side to her, but lately, he'd been seeing much more of her softer side. Not that he was _complaining _about not routinely being beaten over the head with a mallet, mind you, but it did seem somewhat strange to him. Off the top of his head, he couldn't recall any significant events that might have led to this change...

"Say, Akane," he finally spoke. "Is... is something up?"

"What do you mean, Ranma?" she asked, glancing at him.

"Well, just... you've been a bit... different lately..."

"I told you already, Ranma- I just rethought things a bit, and came out with a new perspective," she smiled at him.

Ranma faltered- she really _was _cuter when she smiled.

Abruptly, a loud groaning sound filled the air, and Ranma quickly leapt to the ground, adopting a defensive stance. "What's _that?" _he gasped as he did so.

Akane, however, seemed far from distress- a smile was crossing her face. "About freaking time," she muttered. "Just a second, Ranma, I have something to take care of. See you at school!" And without further adieu- or further explanation- she took off down a nearby alley. Ranma stared after her as the groaning sound filled the air once more.

XXXX

"Mmm... these things are good," Ron smiled blissfully as he helped himself to some classic Honeyduke's chocolate.

"Do you ever stop eating?" Hermione shot an amused glance at him.

"Hard for him to stop, really, he never gets anything at that sty he calls a home," came a derisive sneer, and the three of them saw Malfoy passing by, an amused smirk on his face.

"Malfoy," Ron grimaced as they set off back down Hogsmeade's main street. "I'd like to get my hands on him..."

"Anything to say, Harry?" Hermione asked, turning towards their black-haired comrade, who gave a start upon realizing she was addressing him.

"Oh... uh... well, honestly, he's been bothering me much less lately," he shrugged.

"Yeah, I've noticed," Ron agreed. "Throwing insults at you all through potions yesterday and you didn't say a thing!"

"Personally, I'm proud of you, Harry," Hermione smiled at him. "Finally taking my advice to heart..."

Before conversation could continue, however, she was distracted by something at their feet. "Oh- are you lost, little kitty?"

Looking down, all three saw a cat with bright orange fur, crossing right in front of them and planting himself on the ground to gaze up at Harry with a plaintive mew.

To Ron and Hermione's bewilderment, Harry seemed unduly delighted to see the cat. "It's time?" he asked- and the cat seemed to _nod. _"Do you mind...?"

The cat cocked its head to the side in a 'Well, if you must' kind of way. Harry turned to the others. "Yeah, he's probably a stray- I'll try and find whoever lost him. Don't wait up!" He reached down and picked up the cat, taking off in the other direction.

"...What the bloody hell was that all about?" Ron wondered.

XXXX

The crew of the S.S. Tasha gathered in the break room for breakfast. Jin, Momo, chaos, and Shion were all smiling at the most recent addition to their ranks- the robotic KOS-MOS KP-X. Their guest on the ship, Lieutenant Virgil, meanwhile, was firmly refusing to meet her eyes.

"Doesn't he like her?" Momo asked of chaos, who was nearest.

"I think he's had some... bad experiences with robots in the past," chaos tried to explain as gently as he could.

"But that wasn't KOS-MOS's fault!" Momo objected.

"Give him time, perhaps he'll warm up to her."

KOS-MOS rose from the table and advanced to the kitchen, returning a moment later with a cup of coffee, which she presented to Virgil. Everyone stared. Virgil wasn't violent, but he glared at her as she stood there. "I am aware that some of my kind have caused you a great deal of trouble in the past," she spoke, blunt and concise as always. "However, I do not wish for there to be any enmity between us- I give you this as a peace offering, if you will accept it."

To everyone's surprise, Virgil accepted the coffee, and gave a grudging swig. A look of surprise crossed his face. "Huh... pitch black, bitter, and hot as hell- that's coffee. How did you know that's how I like it?"

"A wild guess," KOS-MOS shrugged before returning to her seat.

The others were on the point of questioning her further when the captain of the vessel, Jr., appeared in the doorway. "Did we pick up some new cargo recently?" he asked.

"Not that I am aware of," Jin glanced up from his morning cup of tea. "Why do you ask?"

"Because this weird hunka metal just appeared down in the cargo holds. Anybody know what it is?"

He crossed to a nearby monitor, typed in a few commands, and brought it up- a large metal sphere decorated to look like a bizarre creature nobody present had ever seen before.

"I've certainly never seen anything like it," Shion shook her head.

"If you will excuse me," KOS-MOS stood. "If it is alright with all of you, I wish to examine the object closer. I will not require assistance."

Everyone glanced at Jr.- it was his call, after all. The red-haired boy shrugged. "Well, I can't see any harm in it. Have at it, KOS-MOS."

KOS-MOS offered him a respectful nod as she left the room. About half an hour later, she returned.

"About time," Jr. glanced up from where he and chaos were exchanging some witty banter. "What's up with it?"

"It is nothing to be concerned about. I have dealt with the issue." Looking at an arm, she suddenly turned towards her creator. "My external appearance is down 5%. Shion, I need to be cleaned."

XXXX

It was late afternoon in Tokyo-3 as Shinji bustled around the apartment he shared with his guardian, Misato, and his roommate, Asuka Langley Soryu. He was putting together an early dinner for the benefit of the former, who had duties to take care of at Nerv later that day.

"And make sure to make that curry _extra _spicy," Asuka ordered him around. "Don't want any of that bland crap, got it?"

"Got it," Shinji affirmed.

Asuka eyed him. Shinji had changed recently- he didn't say much about it, but she could tell. That 'Got it' just now wasn't the passive, weak-willed phrase that it would have been before- he wasn't doing this because he was being told to, he was doing ti because he wanted to.

Though she wouldn't admit it to anyone, the day this change had come over him was the same time she'd felt a change in herself. She couldn't tell why, but she felt much differently towards him than before- it felt as though he'd done something wonderful for her, but as far as she could tell, he hadn't... it felt like it was something huge, something she should never have forgotten, but somehow managed to.

Leaning back to wonder about this a little more, she was surprised when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Shinji offered, heading to the door and opening it to reveal a blue-haired, red-eyed girl on the other side.

"Ikari-kun," she greeted him.

"Ayanami," Shinji nodded, looking slightly nervous.

"There is a young man at my apartment asking for you," she told him. "He is strange- he seems to be from America, but speaks fluent Japanese, and is dressed in a striped shirt... jeans... a baseball cap..."

Very perceptibly, Shinji brightened. "I'll be right over!" he smiled.

"Shinji?" Asuka glanced back at him.

"Can you finish dinner tonight, Asuka? Please?" Shinji asked her. "This is something really important!"

Asuka had been on the verge of giving him a firm 'No,' but seeing his face, she felt something stirring inside her. She simply couldn't bring herself to refuse him. "Alright, baka, I'll take care of it," she assured him. "Just be sure to make it back in time, so I can show you how _real _curry tastes!"

Shinji gave a smile, a nod, and dashed out.

XXXX

Gendo Ikari sat alone in his room, plotting, as ever. All his schemes were coming together, all according to the scenario laid out in the dead sea scrolls...

Abruptly, he looked up as the door opened. On the other side was his son, Shinji, dressed in his usual white shirt and black pants. "Father," Shinji greeted him with a slight nod.

"Shinji," Gendo glowered at him from behind his steepled fingers. "You have something you wish to say to me?"

"There's... there's something I need to tell you... but I don't quite know how to put it."

"Speak quickly, and cease wasting my time."

"Well, the thing is... how do I say it..."

"I think what he's trying to say," came a new voice, and Gendo started as another boy entered the chamber, "is that there's been a security breach around here. I'm afraid it's quite extensive."

The new boy was tall, with untidy black hair, round glasses, and a scar across his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"Oh, yeah, that's right," Shinji smiled at him. "That's what it was."

Fury coursed through Gendo's body. "You allowed outsiders into the depths of NERV headquarters?"

"Nah, brah, nah, he didn't let us in!" came a cheerful-sounding voice as another boy stepped in, dressed in a yellow-and-blue polo, jeans, and baseball gear- complete with bat hanging at his side. "We just kinda let ourselves in- nothing to worry about!"

At his side was a fiercely-orange cat and a young woman with blue hair. "Yeah, it's true," she agreed with the baseball-clad boy. "It was quite a sight. But the thing is... we've been hearing quite a few things about you and what you've _really _been doing here. We thought we'd stop by and let you know that we really don't approve."

"And you think that you can tell _me _what to do?" Gendo asked furiously. He pressed a button under his desk to call for his guards.

"If you're calling for back-up... I'm afraid it's useless," came a new voice, coming from a blond man in full green gear, entering the room with a woman resembling Rei Ayanami with much longer hair at his side. "We already took care of your bokoblins out there."

"Wait- you didn't _kill_-" Shinji gasped.

"Human casualties- zero," the Rei lookalike assured him. She then turned her eyes towards Gendo. "Chances of interference... also zero."

Gendo was really starting to sweat now, but the true last straw was when the cat leapt up on his desk, sat down in front of him, and _spoke, _glaring directly at him as it mewed, "So, why not tell us about these SEELE twolegs before things get ugly?"

_XXXX_

And, this marks the true end of the story. A little longer than I expected, about nine pages compared to the five or six I described last time. Before we wrap everything up, I'll set you guys up with the credits I always run at the end of my stories, describing the roles each character played within this retelling of Live A Live- going story by story, in order of appeareance, we have...

Warriors Chapter: The Singing Cave as Prehistoric Chapter: Contact

Bluestar as The Leader of the Tribe

Graystripe as Gori

Fireheart as Pogo

Nightstar as Leader of the Rival Tribe

Blackfoot as Zaki

Sandstorm as Bel

Blue-Eyed Beast as O-D-O

Ranma ½ Chapter: The Wild Gang as Kung Fu Chapter: Inheritance

Akane Tendo as Li Kuugo

Wu Ya as Odie Wang Lee

Ranma Saotome as Sammo Hakka

Ryoga Hibiki as Xin Shan Quan Master/ Yuan Jou

Legend of Zelda Chapter: The Rescue as Bakumatsu Chapter: Secret Orders

Lady Gavran as Ode Iou

Vaati as Miyamoto Musashi

Link Faron as Oboromaru

Impa as O-Robo

Sheik/Zelda as Ryoma Sakamoto

Earthbound Chapter: The Scouring of Onette as Wild West Chapter: Wandering

Ness as The Sundown Kid

Jeff/Paula/Poo as Mad Dog

People of Onette as People of Success Town

Corvus as O. Dio

Harry Potter Chapter: True Magic as Present Day Chapter: The Strongest

Harry Potter as Masaru Takahara

Ron Weasley as Tula Han

Hermione Granger as Moribe Seishi

Varnas as Jackie Iaukea/Odie Oldbright

Talia as Namcat

Cormac Mclaggen as Max Morgan

Draco Malfoy as Great Asia

Neon Genesis Evangelion Chapter: The Mysterious Child as Near Future Chapter: Flow

Misato Katsuragi as Toei

Shinji Ikari as Akira Tadokoro

Unit 01 as Buriki Daioh

Asuka Langley Soryu as Matsu Kenichi

Rei Ayanami as Taro

Karasu as Odeo/Odeo's followers

Gage as Watanabe

Xenosaga Chapter: Ghost in the Machine as Sci-fi Chapter: Mechanical Heart

Shion Uzuki as Kato

KOS-MOS KP-X as Cube

Momo Mizrahi as Rachel

Jin Uzuki as Huey

chaos as Kirk

Lieutenant Luis Virgil as Corporal Darth

Rubedo 'Jr.' Yuriev as Captain of the Cogito Ergosum

RV-10 as OD-10

Teen Titans Chapter: Skyfall as Medieval Chapter: King of Demons

Raven Roth as Sir Oersted/Odio

Dick 'Robin' Grayson as Hash

Terra Markov as Straybow/Watanabe's father

Victor 'Cyborg' Stone as Uranus

Garfield 'Beastboy' Logan as Princess Alicia/Watanabe

Starfire as King of Lucretia

Hive Five as Armstrong

Slade Wilson as Previous Demon King

Aaaaand... that's about it. Managed to stretch this out for another couple pages, but this time, for real, it is complete. Thank you all once more for coming this far. For the final time this mini-series... please R&amp;R, constructive criticism embraced, flames, not so much, Gamer4... out.


End file.
